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THE CENTENNIAL 



BATTLE 



OP 



BUNKER HILL. 



WITH 



A VIEW OF CHAIJLESTOWJSr IN 1775, PAGE'S PLAN OF THE 

ACTION, KOMANE'S EXACT VIEW OF THE BATTLE, 

AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS. 



BY 

RICHARD FROTHINGHAM. 



m^si^Ull^ 



BOSTON: 
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 

1875. 



V^ • ViA> • VvA^ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by 

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 






y9p 



Cambridge : 
Press of John Wilson &^ Son. 



THE ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The " Exact View of the Battle " is reproduced 
from an American engraving of 1775. It appeared in 
a reduced form in the " Pennsylvania Magazine " of 
that year. 

Page's "Plan of the Action" was engraved for 
the " History of the Siege of Boston." It is the only 
accurate plan of Charlestown of that date. The Hills 
are wrongly named. " Bunker Hill " should be Breed's 
Hill. 

The " View of Charlestovtn " is from a MS., and 
was engraved for the " History of the Siege of Boston." 

These illustrations are fac-similes of the originals. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter ^ page 

I. Continental Congress. — New England. — 

Bunker Hill 1 

II. Breed's Hill Fortified. — Cannonade of 

the British. —The Landing at Charles- 
town 1^ 

III. The Battle of Bunker Hill. — The Burn- 

ing of Charlestown. — The Betreat of 
THE Americans 33 

IV. Character of the Battle. — The Question 

of Command. — Prescott. — Putnam. — 

Warren. — Pomeroy ^^ 

V, Services of the Regiments. — Notices of 
THE Officers. — Numbers Engaged. — 
British Criticism. — Destruction of 
Charlestown 79 



Appendix 135 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 



I. 



Continental Congress. New England. 
Bunker Hill. 

'T^HE events of the great day of Lexington and 
-*• Concord battle changed the American cause 
from commercial war to armed resistance. The 
colonies were then in the relation of Union, with a 
basis of brotherhood, common peril, and a common 
object. Its embodiment was the government of 
congresses and committees inaugurated by the 
Continental Congress. '' The country," wrote Sam- 
uel Gray, July 12, 1775, ^' have the greatest confi- 
dence in its wisdom and integrity. No laws were 
ever more binding upon all ranks of people than 
their orders." This government continued until 
the ratification of the Articles of Confederation. 
Under its authority the colonies enrolled the 
militia for the common defence. 

In Massachusetts, the Provincial Congress ap- 
pointed a Committee of Safety, and gave it au- 
thority to summon the militia when it should be 

1 



2 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

required ; and chose as its generals Artemas Ward, 
Seth Pomeroj^ John Thomas, and William Heath. 
Thus an army, in fact, was in existence, ready, at 
a moment's call, for defensive purposes, to wheel 
its isolated platoons into solid phalanxes ; while it 
presented to an enemy only the opportunity of an 
inglorious foray upon its stores. 

The military force which, on the Lexington and 
Concord alarm, repaired to the towns around Bos- 
ton and held the British army in a state of siege, 
was composed of citizen soldiers set apart for this 
purpose. They had the moral power of the Union. 

On the 17th of June, Congress had adopted 
this force. Washington had accepted the post of 
commander-in-chief: but only the four New Eng- 
land colonies had their militia in the field before 
Boston. 

The Massachusetts Provincial Congress (Sun- 
day, April 30) resolved that an army of thirty 
thousand was necessary for the defence of the 
country ; and to raise, as the proportion of this 
colony, thirteen thousand six hundred troops. 
Fifty-nine men were to form a company, and ten 
companies a regiment ; and those who raised com- 
panies or regiments were promised commissions to 
command them. Artemas Ward was appointed 
commander-in-chief ; John Thomas, lieutenant-gen- 
eral ; and Richard Gridley, the chief engineer. 
Measures were taken to raise a train of artillery ; 



NEW ENGLAND. 6 

but it was not fully organized when the battle of 
Bunker Hill took place. So slowly did the work 
of organization go on, that General Ward, in a 
letter, May 19, stated, that, to save the country, 
" it was absolutely necessary that the regiments be 
immediately settled, the officers commissioned,'and 
the soldiers mustered." His own commission had 
not been issued. On this day Congress adopted 
the form of one for the commander, and passed 
orders relative to the ranks of the regiments and 
the officers. The settlement of the ranks of the 
officers, however, was referred to a future time. 

Connecticut voted to raise six thousand men, 
and organized them into six regiments, of ten com- 
panies each, — one hundred men constituting a 
company. Joseph Spencer, with the rank of 
brigadier-general, was the senior officer in com- 
mand, who arrived with one regiment early in 
May, and took post at Roxbury. Captain John 
Chester's fine company formed part of it. Another 
regiment, commanded by Israel Putnam, with the 
rank of brigadier-general, was stationed at Cam- 
bridge. The 6th Regiment was under Colonel 
Samuel Holden Parsons ; two companies of which 
— his own and Chapman's — were ordered, June 7, 
to the camp, and subsequently one other. Captain 
Coit's ; the remainder of it being stationed, until 
after the battle of Bunker Hill, at New London. 
The disposition of these troops was directed by a 



4 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

" committee of war," which supplied them with 
ammunition and provisions. 

The Rhode Island Assembly voted to raise fif- 
teen hundred men, to constitute " an army of 
observation," and ordered it to ''join and co-oper- 
ate with the forces of the neighboring colonies." 
This force was organized into three regiments, of 
eight companies each, under Colonels Varnum, 
Hitchcock, and Church, and placed under the com- 
mand of Nathaniel Greene, with the rank of 
brigadier-general. One of the companies was a 
train of artillery, and had the colony's field-pieces. 
General Greene, on arriving at the camp, Jamaica 
Plains, found his command in great disorder ; and it 
was only by his judicious labors, and great personal 
influence, that it was kept together. In the rules 
and regulations for the government of this force, it 
is called '' The Rhode Island Army." They pro- 
vide that "all public stores, taken in the ene- 
my's camp or magazines," should be '' secured for 
the use of the colony of Rhode Island." It was 
not until June 28 that this colonj^ passed an act 
putting its troops under the orders of the general 
of the combined army. 

The New Hampshire troops assembled at Med- 
ford, where the field-officers, April 26, held a meet- 
ing, and advised the men to enlist temporarily in 
the service of the Massachusetts colony. They 
also recommended Colonel John Stark to take the 



NEW ENGLAND, 5 

charge of them. This was done. The New Hamp- 
shire Congress, May 20, voted to raise two thou- 
sand men, adopted those that had already enlisted, 
and voted that '' the establishment of officers and 
soldiers should be the same as in the Massachusetts 
Bay." They were organized into three regiments, 
and placed (May 23) under the command of 
Nathaniel Folsom, with the rank of brigadier-gen- 
eral. Two regiments were organized under Colo- 
nels John Stark and James Reed. On the 2d of 
June, General Folsom ordered Colonel Reed to 
collect his companies, — part of which were at 
Medford, under Colonel Stark, — and ''put him- 
self under the command of General Ward, until 
further order." On the 13th of June, by order of 
Ward, this regiment, fully officered, took post at 
Charlestown Neck. Colonel Enoch Poor was ap- 
pointed to command the third regiment, which, 
however, did not arrive at the camp until after 
June 17. Nor did General Folsom arrive at Cam- 
bridge until June 20. 

The official returns of the army are so defective 
and inaccurate, that it is impossible to ascertain, 
with precision, its numbers. The '' grand Amer- 
ican army " consisted of about sixteen thousand 
men. Massachusetts furnished about 11,500 ; Con- 
necticut, 2,300 ; New Hampshire, 1,200 ; Rhode 
Island, 1,000. It was so peculiarly constituted, each 
colony having its own establishment, supplying its 



6 BALTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

troops with provisions and ammunition, and direct- 
ing their disposition, that its only element of uni- 
formity was the common purpose that called it 
together. General Ward Avas authorized to com- 
mand only the Massachusetts and New Hampshire 
forces, though a voluntary obedience was yielded 
to him by the whole army, as the commander-in- 
chief. Nor was it until after the experience of 
the battle of Bunker Hill that the Committee of 
War of Connecticut, to remedy the evils of the 
want of ''a due subordination," and ''of a gen- 
eral and commander-in-chief," instructed Generals 
Spencer and Putnam to yield obedience to Gen- 
eral Ward, and advised the colonies of Rhode 
Island and New Hampshire to do the same respect- 
ing their troops. 

" We have the pleasure," the " Essex Gazette " 
of June 8 says, '' to inform the public that the 
grand American army is nearly completed. Great 
numbers of the Connecticut, New Hampshire, 
and Rhode Island troops are arrived ; among the 
latter is a fine company of artillery, with four ex- 
cellent field-pieces." 

General Artemas Ward, the commander-in- 
chief, had served under Abercrombie, was a true 
patriot, had many private virtues, and was prudent 
and highly esteemed ; Thomas was an excellent 
officer, of a chivalrous spirit and noble heart, and 
was much beloved ; Putnam, widely known, not less 



NEW ENGLAND. 7 

for liis intrepid valor than for his fearless and ener- 
getic patriotism, was frank and wa,rm-hearted, and 
of great popularity ; Pomeroy had fought well at 
Louisburg, where Gridley had won laurels as an 
accomplished engineer ; Prescott, in the French 
war, had exhibited great bravery, and military skill 
of a. high order ; Stark, hardy, independent, brave, 
was another of these veterans ; and Greene was 
commencing a service that was to build up a fame 
second only to that of Washington. These com- 
manders constituted the Council of War. 

It is difficult to give with precision the number 
of British troops in Boston under General Gage at 
the time of the battle. A report of June 11 es- 
timates them at five thousand. The " London 
Chronicle" of the 8th of June says: "General 
Gage's present force consists of the 27th, 35th, and 
(34th Regiments of foot ; the re-enforcements sent 
are the 40th, 45th, 49th, and 63d Regiments of foot ; 
and General Preston's light-horse. This force, 
when complete, it is said, cannot be less than ten 
thousand men." A letter on the British side, dated 
Boston, June 18, says : " All the troops from Ire- 
land are arrived in good health and excellent con- 
dition. Only sixteen horses died in the passage, 
and they brought forty spare ones. Sixteen of the 
transports which were ordered from England to 
New York are by the General ordered to Boston ; 
with this addition our army will then amount to 



8 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

about ten thousand men. . . . The word with the 
Sons of Liberty, as the rebels style themselves, is 
'join or die,' I expect to hear of bloody work soon, 
as our troops are determined to lay all the country 
waste as they go, with fire and sword." 

The general officers destined for America were 
Generals Burgoyne, Clinton, and Howe. When 
they embarked, the following impromptu appeared 
in the " Gentleman's Magazine : " — 

"Behold the ' Cerberus ' the Atlantic plow. 
Her precious cargo, Burgoyne, Clinton, Howe, 
Bow! wow! wow!" 

"The " Cerberus " arrived May 25. When sailing 
into Boston, she met a packet coming out, bound 
to Newport. General Burgoyne asked the skipper 
of the packet what news there was. Being told 
that Boston was surrounded by ten thousand 
country people, he asked how many regulars there 
were in Boston; and being answered about five 
thousand, cried out with astonishment, " What ! 
ten thousand peasants keep five thousand king's 
troops shut up ! Well, let us get in, and we'll 
soon find elbow-room." 

The feelings of officers and men is well stated in 
a letter written in the " Grenadier Camp " on the 
12th of June, by Captain Harris, subsequentl}^ Lord 
Harris, who commanded a company of grenadiers. 
" Affairs at present wear a serious aspect. I wish 
the Americans may be brought to a sense of their 
duty. One good drubbing, which I long to give 



NEW ENGLAND. 9 

them, by way of retaliation, might have a good 
effect towards it. At present they are so elated 
by the petty advantage they gained the 19th of 
April, that they despise the power of Britain, who 
seems determined to exert herself in the conflict. 
Troops every day coming in, and such as will soon 
enable us to take the field on the other side of the 
Demel, alias the Neck." 

There were continual reports to the effect that 
the British intended to sally out of Boston. Meas- 
ures were adopted to prevent this. The Commit- 
tee of Safety and the Council of War appointed 
a joint committee to reconnoitre the heights of 
Charlestown. Their report, May 12, recommended 
the construction of a breastwork near the Red 
House ; one near the road leading to the McLean 
Asylum ; another opposite, on the side of Prospect 
Hill ; a redoubt on the top of the hill where the 
guard-house stood. Winter Hill, to be manned with 
three or four 9-pound ers ; and a strong redoubt 
on Bunker Hill, provided with cannon, to annoy 
the enemy either going out by land or by water. 
^^When these are finished," the Committee say, 
" we apprehend the country will be safe from all 
sallies of the enemies in that quarter." This report 
was referred to the Council of War. At this time 
there was no place in Charlestown known as 
Breed's Hill. 

The Council of War accepted the report so far 
as to authorize the construction of a part of these 



10 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

works. But on the most important measure, that 
of occupying Bunker Hill, there was much differ- 
ence of opinion. General Putnam, Colonel Pres- 
cott, and other veteran officers, were strongly in 
favor of it, and chiefly to draw the enemy out of 
Boston on ground where he might be met on equal 
terms. They urged that the army wished to be 
employed, and that the country was growing dis- 
satisfied with its inactivity. They felt great confi- 
dence in the^ militia. '' The Americans," Putnam 
said, " were not afraid of their heads, though very 
much afraid of their shins : if you cover these, they 
will fight for ever." Generals Ward and Warren 
were among those who opposed it ; and chiefly be- 
cause the army was not in a condition, as it re- 
spected cannon and powder, to maintain so exposed 
a post, and because it might bring on a general 
engagement, which it was neither politic nor safe 
to risk. It was determined to take possession of 
Bunker Hill, and also of Dorchester Heights, but 
not until the army should be better organized, more 
abundantly supplied with powder, and better able 
to defend posts so exposed. 

The patriots had reports, considered reliable, as 
to the contemplated operations of General Gage. 
His Orderly Book indicates immediate work. One 
order, June 15; reads : " The regiments who have 
not completed their grenadiers and light-infantry 
with officers, are to do it immediately." An order 
on the 16th is: "The regiments arrived from Ire- 



BUNKER HILL, 11 

land to examine their arms and ammunition imme- 
diatelj^ Each soldier to be completed with sixty 
rounds of cartridges and three good flints, and see 
that their arms are put in the best order." He 
fixed upon the night of June 18 to take possession 
of Dorchester Heights. Authentic advice of this 
was communicated, June 13, to the American com- 
manders. The Committee of Safety passed, on the 
15th, the following resolve : — 

'' Whereas, it appears of importance to the safety 
of this colony that possession of the hill called 
Bunker's Hill, in Charlestown, be securely kept 
and defended ; and, also, some one hill or hills on 
Dorchester Neck be likewise secured: therefore, 
resolved, unanimously^, that it be recommended to 
the Council of War that the above-mentioned 
Bunker's Hill be maintained, by sufficient .forces 
being posted there ; and as the particular situation 
of Dorchester Neck is unknown to this Committee, 
they advise that the Council of War take and pur- 
sue such steps respecting the same as to them 
shall appear to be for the security of this colony.'' 

The Committee appointed Colonel Palmer and 
Captain White to join with a committee from the 
Council of War, and proceed to the Roxbury camp 
for consultation ; also to communicate the above 
resolve to the Council. 

But small progress had been made in building 
fortifications. Breastworks had been thrown up 
in Cambridge^, and on the Cambridge road near 



12 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

the base of Prospect Hill ; but no works had been 
commenced on Prospect or AVinter Hill. The 
army was posted nearly in the following manner : 
The right wing, under General Thomas, was at 
Roxbury, and consisted of about four thousand 
Massachusetts troops. The Rhode Island forces, 
under Greene, and the greater part of Spencer's 
regiment of Connecticut troops, were at Jamaica 
Plains. General Thomas had three or four artil- 
lery companies, with field-pieces, and a few heavy 
cannon. General Ward's head-quarters were at 
Cambridge, where the centre division of the army 
was stationed. It consisted of fifteen Massachu- 
setts regiments ; the battalion of artillery, hardly 
organized, under Colonel Gridlej^ ; and General 
Putnam's regiment, with other Connecticut troops. 
They were quartered in the colleges, in the church, 
and in tents. Most of the Connecticut troops 
Avere at Inman's Farm ; part of Little's regiment 
was at the tavern in West Cambridge ; Patter- 
son's regiment was at the breastwork, near Pros- 
pect Hill; and a large guard was at Lechmere's 
Point. There were in Cambridge, it is stated 
(probably incorrectly), but four companies of 
artillery with field-pieces. Of the left wing of 
the army, three companies of Gerrish's regiment 
were at Chelsea ; Stark's regiment was at Med- 
ford ; and Reed's regiment was at Charlestovvn 
Neck, with sentinels reaching to Penny Ferry 
(Maiden Bridge) and Bunker Hill. 



BUNKER HILL. 



13 



The return nearest in date to the battle that I 
have been able to find of the troops at Cam- 
bridge is the following, dated June 9, and enti- 
tled, '' Return of the Army at Cambridge : " — 



Regiments. Privates. 

Whitcomb ..... 470 

Brewer 318 

Nixon 224 

Little 400 

Mansfield 345 

Gridley (artillery) . . 370 

Bridge 315 

Doolittle 



Regiments. Privates. 

Frye 493 

Scamman .... 396 

Preseott 456 

Gerrish ... .421 

Woodbridge . . . 242 

Ward 449 

Gardner 425 

Patterson .... 422 

6,063 
Drummers, &c. . .1,581 

7,644 



The peninsula of Charlestown is situated oppo- 
site to the north part of Boston, and is separated 
from it by Charles River. It is about a mile 
in length, from north to south. Its greatest 
breadth, next to Boston, is about half a mile, 
whence it gradually becomes narrower until it 
makes an isthmus, called the Neck, connecting it 
with the mainland. The Mj^stic River, about 
half a mile wide, is on the east side ; and on the 
west side is Charles River, which here forms a 
large bay, — a part of which, by a dam stretching 
in the direction of Cobble Hill, is a mill-pond. 
The Neck, an artificial causeway, was so low as to 
be frequently overflowed by the tides. The com- 



14 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

munication with Boston was by a ferry, where 
Charles River Bridge is, and with Maiden by an- 
other, called Penny Ferry, where Maiden Bridge 
is. Near the Neck, on the mainland, was a large 
green, known as The Common. Two roads ran 
by it, — one in a westerly direction, as now, by 
Cobble Hill (McLean Asylum), Prospect Hill, 
Inman's Woods, to Cambridge Common ; the 
other in a northerly direction, by Ploughed Hill 
(Mount Benedict), Winter Hill, to Medford. 
Bunker Hill begins at the isthmus, and rises grad- 
ually for about three hundred yards, forming a 
round, smooth hill, sloping on two sides towards 
the water, and connected by a ridge of ground on 
the south with the heights now known as Breed's 
Hill. ''Bunker Hill" was well known, — the 
name being in the town records and deeds from an 
early period. Not so with "Breed's Hill," for it 
is not named in any description of streets previous 
to 1775. Nor have I met with the name, in any 
private letter or public paper, prior to the date of 
the battle. The tract of land w^as called after the 
owners of the pastures into which it was divided. 
Thus, Monument Square was a portion of a tract 
called Russell's Pasture ; Breed's Pasture lay fur- 
ther south ; Green's Pasture w^as at the head of 
Green Street. The easterly and westerly sides of 
this height were steep ; on the east side, at its base, 
were brickkilns, clay-pits, and much sloughy land ; 
on the west side, at the base, was the most settled 



» 



BUNKER HILL, 



15 



part of the town. Moulton's Point, 
% name coeval with the settlement 
3f the town, constituted the south- 
east corner of the peninsula. A part 
Df this tract formed what is called, 
jin all the accounts of the battle, 
i^^ Morton's Hill." " Moulton " was 
the name known in Charlestown. 
Bunker Hill was one hundred and 
ten feet high, Breed's, seventy-five 
feet, and Morton's Hill, thirty-five 
feet. The principal street of the 
peninsula was Main Street, which ex- 
tended from the Neck to the Ferry. 
A highway from sixteen feet to thirty 
jfive feet wide ran over Bunker Hill 
I to Moulton's Point, and one connect- 
j ing with it wound round the heights 
now known by the name of Breed's 
Hill. The easterly portions of these 
hills were used chiefly for hay ground 
and pasturing ; the westerly portions 
contained fine orchards and gardens. 
There was near the Boston Ferry 
a market-place, — now the Square. 
Here were a church, a court-house, 
a school-house, and a jail. 



Co 

i i- 

I § 

CO 

Co 



3 

Co 



16 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 



11. 



Breed's Hill Fortified. Cannonade of the British. 
The Landing at Charlestown. 



/^N Friday, the 16th of June, the command- 
^^ ers of the army took measures to fortify 
Bunker Hill. Orders were issued for Prescott's, 
Frye's, and Bridge's regiments, and a fatigue party 
of two hundred Connecticut troops, to parade at 
six o'clock in the evening, with all the intrenching 
tools in the Cambridge camp. They were ordered 
to furnish themselves with packs, blankets, and 
provisions for twenty-four hours. Captain Grid- 
ley's company of artillery, of forty-nine men and 
two field-pieces, was also ordered to parade. The 
Connecticut men, drafted from several companies, 
were put under the gallant Tliomas Knowlton, a 
captain in General Putnam's regiment. He was 
a prosperous farmer, living in Ashford, Connecti- 
cut, and had served with distinction in the French 
wars. He appeared, on the Lexington alarm, in 
the militia company, and was unanimously elected 
captain. 

This would have constituted a force of at least 
fourteen hundred ; but only three hundred of Pres- 
cott's regiment, a part of Bridge's, and a part of 



BREED'S HILL FORTIFIED. IT 

Frje's "ander Lieutenant-Colonel Bricket, the artil- 
lery, and the two hundred Connecticut troops, were 
ordered to march. Hence the number may be fairly 
estimated at twelve hundred. 

The detachment was placed under the command 
of Colonel Wilham Prescott, of Pepperell, who had 
orders in writing, from General Ward, to proceed 
that evening to Bunker Hill, build fortifications to 
be planned by Colonel Richard Gridley, the chief 
engineer, and defend them until he should be re- 
lieved. The order was not to be communicated 
until the detachment had passed Charlestown Neck. 
It was understood that re-enforcements and refresh- 
ments should be sent to Colonel Prescott on the 
following morning. 

Colonel Prescott was over six feet in height, of 
strong and intelligent features, with blue eyes and 
brown hair, large and muscular, but not corpulent. 
He had served with distinction as a lieutenant under 
General Winslow, at Cape Breton. He had com- 
manded a regiment of minute-men. His brother- 
in-law, Colonel Willard, a few months previous, 
endeavoring to dissuade him from the active part 
he was taking, suggested that his estate and life 
would be forfeited for treason. He replied : ''I 
have made up my mind on that subject. I think it 
probable I may be found in arms ; but I will never 
be taken aUve. The tories will never have the 
satisfaction of seeing me hanged." 

2 



18 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

General Putnam enjoyed great popularity with 
the army. An acrostic in the newspapers of the 
day gives the idea entertained of him : — 

*' P ure mass of courage, every soldier's wonder, 

U nto the Field he steps, inrobed with martial Thunder, 

T ares up the elements, and rends the Earth asunder. 

N ature designed him for the Field of Battle, 

U nused to Statesmen's wiles or courtier's prattle, 

M ars-like, his chief Delights, where thundering cannon rattle." 

He not unlikely was among the Connecticut 
troops. One of them says his talk was : " Men ! 
there are enough of you on the Common this even- 
ing to fill hell to-morrow, so full of the red-coats, 
that the devils will break their shins over them." 

This detachment paraded on Cambridge Com- 
mon at the time appointed. After a fervent and 
impressive prayer by President Langdon, of Har- 
vard College, it commenced, about nine o'clock, its 
memorable march for Charlestown. Colonel Pres- 
cott was at its head, arrayed in a simple and 
appropriate uniform, with a blue coat and a three- 
cornered hat. Two sergeants, carrying dark lan- 
terns, were a few paces in front of him, and the 
intrenching tools, in carts, in the rear. Colonel 
Gridley accompanied the troops. They were en- 
joined to maintain the strictest silence, and were 
not aware of the object of the expedition until they 
halted at Charlestown Neck. Here Major Brooks 
joined them ; and, probably. General Putnam and 



1 

II 



BREED'S HILL FORTIFIED. 19 

mother general. Here Captain Nutting, with his 
company and ten of the Connecticut troops, was 
)rdered to proceed to the lower part of the town 
IS a guard. The main body then marched over 
Bunker Hill, and again halted for some time. Here 
Dolonel Prescott called the field-officers around 
jim, and communicated his orders. A long con- 
mltation took place in relation to the place to be 
[ortified. The veteran Colonel Gridley, and two 
generals, one of whom was General Putnam, took 
part in it. The order was explicit as to Bunker 
Hill ; and yet a position in the pastures nearer Bos- 
ton, now known as Breed's Hill, seemed better 
adapted to the objects of the expedition, and bet- 
, ter suited the daring spirit of the officers. " One 
[general and the engineer were of opinion we ought 
I not to intrench on Charlestown Hill (Breed's Hill) 
till we had thrown up some works on the north 
and south ends of Banker Hill, to cover our men 
in their retreat, if that should happen ; but, on the 
j pressing importunity of the other general officer, it 
'was consented to begin, as was done." That the 
!best position was Breed's Hill, Judge Prescott 
isays, was ''Colonel Gridley's opinion, and the 
other field-officers who were consulted, — they 
thought it came within his (Prescott's) orders. 
I There was not then the distinction between Bun- 
|ker Hill and Breed's that has since been made." 
' Thus it was concluded to proceed on to the place 



20 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

where the monument now .stands. At the same 
time, it was determined that works should be erected 
on Bunker Hill, — the hill on which the Francis 
De Sales (Catholic) church stands. When the de- 
tachment reached the place, the packs were thrown 
off, the guns were stacked, Colonel Gridley marked 
out the plan of a fortification, tools were distrib- 
uted, and about twelve o'clock the men began to 
work. Colonel Prescott immediately detached Cap- 
tain Maxwell, of his own regiment, and a party, 
with orders to patrol the shore in the lower part of 
the town, near the old ferry, and watch the motions 
of the enemy during the night. General Putnam, 
after the men were at labor, returned to- Cam- 
bridge. 

Anxious to the patriot laborers were the watches 
of that star-light night. The shore in Boston, op- 
posite to them, was belted by a chain of sentinels ; 
while nearer still, British men-of-war were moored 
in the waters around them, and commanded the 
peninsula. The '' Falcon " was off Moulton's 
Point ; the " Lively " lay opposite the present 
Navy Yard ; the '' Somerset " was at the ferr}^ ; the 
"Glasgow" was near Craigie's Bridge; and the 
^'Cerberus," and several floating batteries, were 
within gun-shot. This proximity to an enemy 
required great caution; a thousand men, accus- 
tomed to handling the spade, worked with great 
diligence and silence on the intr^nchments ; while 



BREED'S HILL FORTIFIED, 21 

the cry of '' All's well ! " heard at intervals through 
the night by the patrols, gave the assurance that 
they were not discovered. Colonel Prescott, ap- 
prehensive of an attack before the works were in 
such a condition as to cover the men, went down 
twice to the margin of the river with Major Brooks 
to reconnoitre, and was delighted to hear the watch 
on board the ships drowsily repeat the usual cry. 
The last time, a little before daylight, finding every 
thing quiet, he recalled the party under Maxwell to 
the hill. 

'' Colonel Prescott was often heard to say that 
his great anxiety that night was to have a screen 
raised, however slight, for his men before they were 
attacked, which he expected would be early in the 
morning, as he knew it would be difficult, if not 
quite impossible, to make raw troops, however full 
of patriotism, to stand in an open field against ar- 
tillery and well-armed and well-disciplined soldiers. 
He therefore strenuously urged on the work ; and 
every subaltern and private labored with spade and 
pickaxe, without intermission, through the night, 
and until they resumed their muskets near the 
middle of the next day. Never were men in worse 
i condition for action, — exhausted by watching, 
fatigue, and hunger, — and never did old soldiers 
behave better." These are the words of Judge 
Prescott. 

The intrenchments, by the well-directed labor of 



22 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

tlie night, were raised about six feet high. They 
were first seen at early dawn, on the 17th of 
June, by the sailors on board the men-of-war. The 
captain of the " Lively," without waiting for or- 
ders, put a spring on her cable and opened a fire 
on the American works. The sound of the guns, 
breaking the calmness of a fine summer's morning, | 
alarmed the British camp, and summoned the pop- 
ulation of Boston and vicinity to gaze upon the 
novel spectacle. Admiral Graves almost imme- 
diately ordered the firing to cease ; but, in a short 
time, it was renewed, by authority, from a battery 
of six guns and howitzers, from Copp's Hill, in 
Boston, and from the shipping. The Americans/ 
protected by their works, were not at first injured 
by the balls ; and they kept steadily at labor, 
strengthening the. intreiichments, and making in- 
side of them platforms of wood and earth to stand 
upon when they should be called upon to fire. 

Early in the day Asa Pollard, a private, was 
killed by a cannon-ball. A subaltern informed 
Prescott of this, and asked what should be done. 
"Bury him," he was told. "What!" said the 
astonished officer, " without prayers ? " A chap- i 
lain insisted on performing service over the first I 
victim, and gathered many soldiers about him. I 
Prescott ordered them to disperse. The chaplain 1 
again collected his audience, when the deceased I 
was oidered to be buried. Some of the men left 



CANNONADE OF THE BRITISH. 23 

the hill. To inspire confidence, Colonel Prescott 
imounted the parapet and walked leisurely around 
,it, inspecting the works, giving directions to the 
jofficers, and encouraging the men by approbation, 
jDr amusing them with humor. One of his captains, 
understanding his motive, followed his example 
while superintending the labors of his company. 
This had the intended effect. The men became 
indifferent to the cannonade, or received the balls 
with repeated cheers. '' The Americans," a Brit- 
ish writer says, " bore this severe fire with wonder- 
ful firmness, and seemed to go on with their business 
as if no enemy had been near." The following 
vessels took part in the cannonade during the day. 
The position of the '' Cerberus " is not given in the 
plans of the battle : — 



Somerset, 


68 guns, 520 men. 


Captain Edward Le Cras. 


Cerberus, 


36 „ 


j> 


Chads. 


Glasgow, 


24 „ 130 „ 


if 


William Maltby. 


Lively, 


20 „ 130 „ 


if 


Thomas Bishop. 


Falcon, 




fi 


Linzee. 


Symmetry, 


20 „ 







The tall, commanding form of Prescott was ob- 
I served by General Gage, as he was reconnoitring 
: the Americans through his glass, who inquired of 
:Clouncillor Willard, near him, '' Who the person 
'was who appeared to command." Willard recog- 
Inized his brother-in-law. '' Will he fight ? " again 
inquired Gage. ''Yes, sir; he is an old soldier, 



24 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

and will fight as long as a drop of blood remains, 
in his veins ! " '' The works must be carried," was 
the reply. 

As the day advanced the heat became oppressive. 
Many of the men, inexperienced in war, had neg- 
lected to comply with the order respecting pro- 
visions, while no refreshments had arrived. Hence 
there was much suffering from want of food and 
drink, as well as from heat and fatigue ; and this 
produced discontent and murmurs. The officers 
urged Colonel Prescott to send a request to General 
Ward for them to be relieved by other troops. The 
Colonel promptly told them, in reply, that he never 
would consent to their being relieved. '' The en- 
emy," he said, '' would not dare to attack them ; 
and if they did, would be defeated : the men who 
had raised the works were the best able to defend 
them; already they had learned to despise the 
fire of the enemy ; they had the merit of the labor, 
and should have the honor of the victory." 

Colonel Prescott, about nine o'clock, called a 
council of war. The officers represented that the 
men, worn down by the labors of the night, in 
want even of necessary refreshments, were dissat- 
isfied, and in no condition for action, and again 
urged that they should be relieved, or, at least, that 
Colonel Prescott should send for re-enforcements 
and provisions. The Colonel, though decided against 
the proposition to relieve them, agreed to send a 



CANNONADE OF THE BRITISH, 25 

^special messenger to General Ward for additional 
^troops and supplies. The o£Scers were satisfied, 
and Major John Brooks, afterwards Governor 
jBrooks, was despatched for this purpose to head- 
^quarters, where he arrived about ten o'clock. 

General Ward, early in the morning, had been 
urged by General Putnam to send re-enforcements 
to Colonel Prescott, but was so doubtful of its 
expediency that he ordered only one-third of 
Stark's regiment to march to Charlestown ; and 
after receiving the message by Major Brooks, he 
refused to weaken further the main army at Cam- 
bridge, until the enemy had more definitely revealed 
his intentions. He judged that General Gage would 
make his principal attack at Cambridge, to destroy 
the stores. The Committee of Safety, then in ses- 
sion, was consulted. One of its most active mem- 
bers, Richard Deyens, strongly urged that aid 
should be sent ; and his opinion partially prevailed. 
With its advice. General Ward, about eleven 
o'clock, ordered the whole of the regiments of 
Colonels Stark and Reed, of New Hampshire, to 
re-enforce Colonel Prescott. Orders, also, were is- 
sued for the recall of the companies stationed at 
Chelsea. 

The Provincial Congress, convened at Water- 
town, held sessions morning and afternoon. The 
Committee of Safety, in session at Cambridge, issued 
an order to the selectmen of the towns to send all 



26 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

the town stocks of powder instantly to Watertown. 
The Committee of Supplies, by David Cheever, in 
a letter to the Committee of Safety, states that, ex- 
clusive of thirty-six half-barrels of powder received 
from the governor and council of Connecticut, there 
were only in the magazine twenty-seven half-bar- 
rels, and that no more could be drafted from the 
towns, without exposing them more than they 
would consent to. 

The Committee of Safety asked for " four of the 
best riding-horses," to bring quick intelligence to 
head-quarters. The Committee of Supplies replied 
that they had no horses at present, but what were 
unfit for use, or were wanted for the expresses of 
that committee. '' We have received," says the let- 
ter, ''but ten out of the twenty-eight horses ordered 
by Congress to be delivered us, and are informed 
that those left behind are some, of the best. Pray 
take them, if to be found, unless detained by the 
generals. We have sent to procure four, which 
shall be sent as soon as possible." 

During the forenoon a flood-tide enabled the 
British to bring three or four floating-batteries to 
play on the intrenchments, when the fire became 
more severe. The men-of-war at intervals dis- 
charged their guns, — the ''Glasgow," one account 
states, continued to fire all the morning. The only 
return made to this terrific cannonade was a few 
ineffectual shot from a cannon in a corner of the 



CANNONADE OF THE BRITISH. 27 

redoubt. About eleven o'clock the men had mostly 
ceased labor on the works. The io trenching tools 
had been piled in the rear, and all were anxiously 
awaiting the arrival of refreshments and re-enforce- 
ments. No works, however, had been commenced 
on Bunker Hill, regarded as of great importance in 
case of a retreat. General Putnam, who was on 
his way to the heights when Major Brooks was 
going to Cambridge, rode on horseback to the 
redoubt, '' and told Colonel Prescott " — as Gen- 
eral Heath first relates the circumstance — ''that 
the intrenching tools must be sent off, or they 
would be lost. The Colonel replied, that if he sent 
'any of the men away with the tools, not one of 
them would return. To this the General answered, 
!i they shall every man return. A large party was 
, then sent off with the tools, and not one of them 
I returned. In this instance the Colonel was the best 
judge of human nature." A large part of the tools 
were carried no farther than Bunker Hill, where, 
by General Putnam's order, the men -began to 
throw lip a breastwork. Most of the tools fell into 
the hands of the enemy. 

Soon after this, the enemy were observed to be 
in motion in Boston. General Gasre had called a 
council of war early in the morning. As it was 
clear that the Americans were gaining strength 
every hour, it was the unanimous opinion that it 
was necessary to change the plan of operations that 



28 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 



had been agreed upon, and drive them from the: 
newly erected works. Different viev/s prevailed as' 
to the manner in which it should be attempted^ i 
General Clinton, and a majority of the council,' 
were in favor of embarking a force at the Common- 
in Boston, and, under the protection of their bat 1 
teries, landing in the rear of the Americans, at 
Charlestown Neck, to cut off their retreat. A roy- 
alist in Boston at this time used to relate, that 
knowing the British officers were in consultation 
at the Province House, on the morning of this day, 
he called there to learn their intentions. Immedi- 
ately after the arrangements had been made for the 
attack, he met in the front yard an officer, who 
warmly inveighed against the decision of the other 
officers. '' It would cost many lives to attack in 
front ; but the English officers would not believe 
the Americans would fight." In the morning Gen- 
eral Gage said to General Timothy Ruggles : '' It 
is impossible for the rebels to withstand our arms 
a moment." Ruggles replied : '' Sir, you do not 
know with whom you have to contend. These are 
the very men who conquered Canada. I fought 
with them side by side ; I know them well ; they 
will fight bravely. My God ! Sir, your folly has 
ruined j^our cause." General Gage opposed the 
plan of attack in the rear as unmilitary and haz- 
ardous. It would place his force between two 
armies, — one strongly fortified, and the other 



CANNONADE OF THE BRITISH. 29 

superior in numbers, — and thus expose it to 
destruction. It was decided to attack in front, 
and Gage immediately issued the following mo- 
mentous orders : — 

" General Morning Orders. 

"June 17, ten o'clock. 

" The companies of the 35th and 49th Regi- 
ments that are arrived, to land as soon as the trans- 
ports can get to the wharf, and to encamp on the 
ground marked out for them on the Common. 
Captain Handfield is appointed to act as an as- 
sistant to the deputy-quartermaster-general, and is 
to be obeyed as such. The ten oldest companies 
of Grenadiers, and the ten oldest companies of 
Light Infantry, exclusive of the regiments lately 
landed, the 5th and 38th Regiments, to parade at 
half-past eleven o'clock, with their arms, ammuni- 
tion, blankets, and the provision ordered to be 
cooked this morning. They will march by files to 
the Long Wharf. The 52d and 43d, with th,e re- 
maining company of Grenadiers and Light Infan- 
try, to parade at the same time with the same 
directions, and march to the North Batterv. The 
47th and 1st Battalion of Marines will also march, 
as above directed, to the same battery, after the rest 
are embarked, and be ready to embark there when 
ordered. The rest of the troops will be kept in 



30 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

readiness to march at a moment's warning. One 
subaltern, one sergeant, one corporal, one drum- 
mer, and twenty privates to be left by each corps, 
for the security of their respective camps. Any 
man who shall quit his ranks on any pretence, oi 
shall dare to plunder or pillage, will be executed 
without mercy." 

It was then customary to select from each regi- 
ment the tallest and finest-looking^ men to form a 
company of Grenadiers, who occupied the right of 
the battalion when in line, and led in attack. They 
were distinguished by a high cap and other pecu- 
liarities in dress. Hence the companies ordered 
out may well be termed the flower of the army. 
This force was put under the command of General 
Howe, who had under him Brigadier-General 
Pigot, and some of the most distinguished officers 
in Boston. He was ordered to drive the Ameri- 
cans from their works. 

About twelve o'clock the several regiments 
marched through the streets of Boston to their 
places of embarkation, and two ships of war moved 
up Charles River to join the others in firing on the 
works. Suddenly the redoubled roar of the cannon 
announced that the crisis was at hand. The "Fal- 
con " and the '' Lively " swept the low grounds in 
front of Breed's Hill, to dislodge any parties of 
troops that might be posted there to oppose a 



THE LANDING AT CH ABLEST OWN. 31 

landing ; the '' Somerset," and two floating-batteries 
at the ferry, and the battery on Copp's Hill, poured 
shot upon the American works; the ''Glasgow" 
frigate, and the ''Symmetry" transport, mounting 
twenty guns, moored farther up Charles River, 
raked the Neck. The troops embarked at the 
Long Wharf and at the North Battery ; and when 
a blue flag was displayed as a signal, the fleet, 
with field-pieces in the leading barges, moved 
towards Charlestown. The sun was shining in 
meridian splendor; and the scarlet uniforms, the 
glistening armor, the brazen artillery, the regular 
movement of the boats, the flashes of fire, and the 
belchings of smoke, formed a spectacle brilliant 
and imposing. The army landed in good order at 
Moulton's Point, about one o'clock, without the 
slightest molestation. " Several," a British letter 
says, " attempted to run away ; and five actually 
took to their heels to join the Americans, but 
were presently brought back, and two of them 
were hung up in terrorem to the rest." The 
boats were all ordered back to Boston. 

General Howe immediately formed his command 
in three lines. After reconnoitring the American 
works, he applied to General Gage for a re-enforce- 
ment. While waiting for it to arrive, his troops 
quietly dined. It proved to many a brave man his 
last meal. 

When the intelH^ence of the landing of the 



82 



BATTLE OF BUNKER UILL. 



British troops reached Cambridge, there was sud 
denly great noise and confusion. The bells wer( 
rung, the drums beat to arms, and adjutants rodt., 
hurriedly from point to point, with orders for| 
troops to march and oppose the enemy. 

"Just after dinner," Chester says, " I was walk-i 
ing out from my lodgings quite calm and composed, 
and all at once the drums beat to arms, and bells 
rang, and a great noise in Cambridge. Captain 
Putnam came by on full gallop. ' What is the 
matter ? ' says I. ' Have you not heard ? ' ' No.' 
' Why, the regulars are landing at Charlestown,' 
says he, 'and father says you must all meet, and 
march immediately to Bunker Hill to oppose the 
enemy.' I waited not, but ran and got my arms 
and ammunition, and hasted to my company (who 
were in the church for barracks), and found 
them nearly ready to march. We soon marched, 
with our frocks and trousers on over our other 
clothes (for our company is in uniform wholly blue, 
turned up with red), for we were loth to expose 
ourselves by our dress ; and down we marched." 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 33 



m. 



The Battle of Buxker Hill. The Burning of 
Chahlestown. The Retreat of the Americans. 

A BOUT two o'clock in the afternoon intense 
"^ ^ anxiety prevailed at the intrenchments on 
Breed's Hill. The patriot band who raised them 
had witnessed the brilliant landing of the British 
veterans, and the return of the barges to Boston. 
They saw troops again filling the boats, and felt, 
not without apprehension, that a battle was inevi- 
table. They knew the contest would be an unequal 
one, — that of raw militia against the far-famed 
regulars, — and they grew impatient for the prom- 
ised re-enforcements. But no signs appeared that 
additional troops were on the way to support them. 
Teams were impressed to carry on provisions ; 
barrels of beer arrived ; but the supply of refresh- 
ments that reached them was so scanty, that it 
served only to tantalize their wants. It is not 
strange, therefore, the idea was entertained that 
they had been rashly, if not treacherously, led into 
perilous position, and that they were to be left to 
their own resources for their defence. '' The dan- 
ger," Peter Brown wrote, "we were. in made us 
think there was treachery, and that we were 

3 



34 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

brought here to be all slain. And I must and will 
venture to say there was treachery, oversight, or 
presumption in the conduct of our officers." 

This idea, however, must have been dispelled, 
as characters Avho had long been identified with 
the patriot cause, who were widely known and 
widely beloved, appeared on the field to share their 
perils, and assured them that aid was at hand. 

General Pomeroj^ a veteran of the French wars, 
as brave as he was patriotic, asked of Ward a 
horse to take him to the field ; and one was sup- 
plied. On his arrival at the Neck, he declined to 
expose the horse to the severe fire that raked it, 
and coolly walked across. He joined the force, 
gun in hand, at the rail-fence, and was welcomed 
by cheers. 

James Otis was on the field. He was an invalid, 
stopping at Watertown with James Warren, sub- 
sequently the President of the Provincial Congress, 
who married his sister Mercy. He, who had so 
nobly served his country v/ith his pen and in the 
council, could not resist an impulse to aid it in 
the field. '' Your brother," Warren, on the 18th 
of June, wrote to his wife, '' borrowed a gun, &c., 
and went among the flj^ing bullets at Charlestown, 
and returned last evening at ten o'clock." It is 
not po;^sible to say af what time he arrived, or 
where he fought. 

General Warren was at Cambridi^e, in the 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 35 

Hastings House, near the College, attending a 
meeting of tlie Committee of Safety. He declared 
his purpose of joining the men in the redoubt. To 
the affectionate remonstrance of Elbridge Gerry, he 
replied, '' Diilce et decorum est pro patria mori," — 
'^ It is sweet and becoming to die for the country." 
" The ardor of dear Dr. Warren," wrote William 
Williams, June 20, '' could not be restrained by 
the entreatv of his brethren of the Congress." 
He mounted a horse, and, in company with Dr. 
Townsend, one of his students, set out for Charles- 
town. Townsend soon left him, and he overtook 
James Swan and James Winthrop, who were 
walking to the field of battle. Exchanging salu- 
tations, he passed on and came within the range 
of batteries at the Neck. Here he left his horse 
and walked up Bunker Hill, where one of his 
students, William Eustis, subsequently governor, 
served on this day as surgeon ; and thence down 
the hill to the rail-fence. Here he met Putnam, 
who offered to receive orders from him. But 
Warren replied, " I am here only as a volunteer. 
I know nothing of your dispositions ; nor will I 
interfere with them. Tell me where I can be 
most useful." Putnam directed him to the re- 
doubt, with the remark, " There you will be 
co^ Bred." When Warren said, '' Don't think I 
came to seek a place of safety, but tell me where 
the onset will be most furious." Putnam named 



36 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

the redoubt. Warren then went to the redoubt. 
He was enthusiastically received. " All the men 
huzzaed." He said that he came to encourage 
a good cause, and that a re-enforcement of two 
thousand men was on its way to their support. 
Prescott asked Warren if he had any orders to 
give ; who replied that he had none, saying, " The 
command is yours." This is the relation by Heath. 
Judge Prescott is more circumstantial. '' General 
Warren," he says, " came to the redoubt, a short 
time before the action commenced, with a musket 
in his hand. Colonel Prescott went to him, and 
proposed that he should take the command ; ob- 
serving that he (Prescott) understood he (Warren) 
had been appointed a major-general, a day or two 
before, by the Provincial Congress. General 
Warren replied, "I shall take no command here. 
I have not yet received my commission. I came 
as a volunteer, with my musket, to serve under 
you, and shall be happy to learn from a soldier of 
your experience." He3vas obeying the call of duty. 

General Putnam, who had the confidence of 
the army, again rode on, about this time, with 
the intention of remaining to share their labors 
and peril. He continued in Charlestown through 
the afternoon, giving orders to re-enforcements as 
they arrived on the field, cheering and animating 
the men, and rendering valuable service. 

The movements of the British along the margin 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 87 

of Mystic River indicated an intention of flanking 
the Americans, and of surrounding the redoubt. 
To prevent this, Colonel Prescott ordered the 
artillery, with two field-pieces, and Captain Knowl- 
ton, with the Connecticut troops, to leave the 
intrenchraents, march down the hill, and oppose 
the enemy's right wing. Captain Knowlton took 
a position six hundred feet in the rear of the 
redoubt, near the base of Bunker Hill, behind a 
fence, one half of which was stone, with two rails 
of wood. He then made, a little distance in front 
of this, another parallel line of fence, and filled 
the space between them with the newly cut grass 
lying in the fields. This line runs through the new 
burial-ground, nearly on a line with Elm Street. 
While Captain Knowlton's party was doing this, 
between two and three o'clock. Colonel Stark, 
with his regiment, arrived at the Neck, which 
was then enfiladed by a galling fire from the 
enemy's ships and batteries. Captain Dearborn, 
who was by the side of the Colonel, suggested 
to him the expediency of quickening his step 
across ; but Stark replied, " One fresh man in 
action is worth ten fatigued ones," and marched 
steadily over. General Putnam ordered part of 
these troops to labor on the works begun on 
Bunker Hill, while Colonel Stark, after an ani- 
mated address to his men, led the remainder to 
the position Captain Knowlton had taken, and 



38 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

they aided in extending the line of the fence breast- 
work to the water's edge, by throwing up a stone- 
wall on the beach. Colonel Reed left the Neck, 
and marched over Bunker Hill, and took position 
near Colonel Stark, at the rail-fence. 

The defences of the Americans, at three in the 
afternoon, were still in a rude, unfinished ^tate. 
The redoubt on the spot where the monument 
stands was about eight rods square. Its strongest 
side, the front, facing the settled part of the town, 
was made with projecting angles, and protected 
the south side of the hill. The eastern side com- 
manded an extensive field. The north side had 
an open passage-way. A breastwork, beginning 
a short distance from the redoubt, and on a line 
with its eastern side, extended about one hundred 
yards north to.wards a slough. A sally-port, be- 
tween the south end of the breastwork and the 
redoubt, was protected by a blind. These works 
were raised about six feet from the level of the 
ground, and had platforms of wood, or steps made 
of earth, for the men to stand on when they should 
fire. The rail-fence has been already described. 
Its south corner was about two hundred j'ards, on 
a diagonal line, in the rear of the north corner of 
the breastwork. This line was slightly protected ; 
a part of it, however, — about one hundred yards, 
— between the slough and the rail-fence, was open 
to the approach of infantry. It was the weakest 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. ' 89 

part of the defences. On the right of the redoubt, 
along a cart-way, a fence was made similar to the 
one on the left. The redoubt and breastwork 
constituted a good defence against cannon and 
musketry, but the fences were hardly more than 
the shadow of protection. 

These defences were lined nearly in the following 
manner : The original detachment, under Colonel 
Prescott, except the Connecticut troops, were at 
the redoubt and breastwork. They were joined, 
just previous to the action, by portions of Massa- 
chusetts regiments, under Colonels Bi'ewer, Nixon, 
Woodbridge, Little, and Major Moore, and one 
company of artillery, — Callender's. Captain Grid- 
ley's artillery company, after discharging a few 
ineffectual shots from a corner of the redoubt tow- 
ards Copp's Hill, moved to the exposed position 
between the breastwork and rail-fence, where it 
was joined by the other artillerj^ compan}^ under 
Captain Callender. Perkins's company, of Little's 
regiment, and a few other troops, Captain Nutting's 
company — recalled from Charlestown after the 
British landed — and part of Warner's company, 
lined the cart-way on the right of the redoubt. 
The Connecticut troops, under Captain Knowlton, 
the New Hampshire forces, under Colonels Stark 
and Reed, and a few Massachusetts troops, were 
at the rail-fence. General Putnam was here when 
the action commenced. Three companies — Captain 



40 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

Wheeler's, of Doolittle's regiment, Captain Crosby's, 
of Reed's regiment, and a company from Wood- 
bridge's regiment — were stationed in Main Street, 
at the base of Breed's Hill, and constituted the 
extreme right of the Americans. Though this 
statement may be in the main correct, yet such 
is the lack of precision in the authorities, that 
accuracy cannot be arrived at. The Massachusetts 
re-enforcements, as they came on to the field, appear 
to have marched to the redoubt, and were directed 
to take the most advantageous positions. In doing 
this, parts of regiments, and even companies that 
came on together, broke their ranks, divided, and 
subsequently fought in various parts of the field 
in platoons or as individuals, rather than under 
regular commands. 

Meantime, the main body of the Britioh troops, 
in brilliant array at Moulton's Poin£, waited quietly 
for the arrival of tlie re-enforcements. It was nearlj' 
three o'clock when the barges returned. They 
landed at the Old Battery and at Mardlin's ship- 
yard, near the entrance to the Navy Yard, the 
47th Regiment, the first battalion of marines, and 
several companies of grenadiers and light-infantry. 
The most of them marched directly towards the 
redoubt. There had now landed about three thou- 
sand troops. 

General Howe, just previous to the action, ad- 
dressed his army in the following manner : — 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 41 

" Gentlemen, — I am very Happy in having the 
honor of commanding so fine a body of men : I do 
not in the least doubt but that you will behave 
like Englishmen , and as becometh good soldiers. 

'' If the enemy will not come from their intrench- 
ments, we must drive them out, at all events, other- 
wise the town of Boston will be set on fire by 
them. 

'' I shall not desire one of you to go a step farther 
than where I go myself at your head. 

''Remember, gentlemen, we have no recourse 
to any resources if we lose Boston, but to go on 
board our ships, which will be very disagreeable 
to us all." 

Before General Howe moved from his first posi- 
tion, he sent out strong flank guards, and directed 
his field-pieces to plaj^ on the American lines. 
The fire from Copp's Hill, from the ships, and 
from the batteries, now centred on the intrench- 
ments. "A furious cannonade," Heath writes, 
" and throwing of shells took place at the lines 
on Boston Neck against Roxbury, with intent to 
burn that town ; but although several shells fell 
among the houses, and some carcasses near them, 
and the balls w^ent through some, one man only 
was killed." The fire upon the lines was but 
feebly returned from Gridley*s and Callender's 
field-pieces. Gridley's guns were soon disabled, 
and he drew them to the rear. Captain Callender, 



42 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 



alleging that his cartridges were too large for hii 
pieces, withdrew to Bunker Hill. Here he inei 
Putnam, who ordered him to return. Callendei 
returned ; but soon left his post, and was deserted 
by his men. About this time, Captain Ford's 
company, of Bridge's regiment, came on to the 
field, and, at the pressing request of Putnam, drew 
the deserted pieces to the rail-fence. The gunner 
had quitted his post, but Putnam fired four guns. 
Meantime Prescott detached Lieutenant-Colonel 
Robinson and Major Woods, each with a party, to 
flank the enemy. Both behaved with courage and 
prudence. No details, however, are given of their 
service. Captain Walker, with a few men, prob- 
ably of one of these parties, met with the British 
near the Navy Yard, and fired from the cover of 
buildings and fences. On being driven in, he 
passed with a few of the party to their right flank, 
along the margin of Mystic River, where he was 
wounded and taken prisoner. The greater part 
of his men, under a heavy fire, succeeded in regain- 
ing the redoubt. 

The general discharge of artillery was intended 
to cover the advance of the British columns. They 
moved forward in two divisions, — General Howe 
with the right wing, to penetrate the line at the 
rail-fence, and cut off a retreat from the redoubt ; 
General Pigot with the left wing, to storm the 
breastwork and redoubt. '' The assault," Stedman 



BATTLE OF BUNKER niLL. 



43 




44 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

says, " was made on the whole front." The artil- 
lery, after playing a short time, ceased, and General 
Howe was told that twelve-pound balls had been 
sent with which to load six-pounders, when he 
ordered the pieces to be charged with grape. 
'^ The wretched blunder," a British writer says, 
" of the over-sized balls sprung from the dotage 
of an officer of rank in that corps, who spends his 
whole time in dallying with the school-master's 
daughters." 

In advancing, however, the artillery was soon 
impeded by the miry ground at the base of the 
hill, and took post near the brick-kilns, whence 
its balls produced but little effect. The troops 
moved forward slowly ; for they were burdened 
with knapsacks full of provisions, obstructed 
hj the tall grass and the fences, and heated 
b}^ a burning sun. " These .posts and rails," 
a British writer saj^s, " were too strong for the 
columns to push down; and the march was so 
retarded by the getting over them, that the next 
morning they were found studded with bullets, 
not a hand's-breadth from each other." But they 
felt unbounded confidence in their strength, re- 
garded their antagonists with scorn, and expected 
an easy victory. One of them says : " ^ Let us take 
the bull bj'' the horns,' was the phrase of some 
ereat men amonsr us, as we marched on." 

The Americans coolly waited their approach. 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 45 

Their oiBBcers ordered them to reserve their fire 
until the British were within ten or twelve rods, 
and then to wait until the word was given. '' Pow- 
der is scarce, and must not be wasted," they said ; 
'' fire low ; " " aim at the waistbands ; " '' wait 
until j^ou see tlie wliite of their ej^es ; " '' aim at 
the handsome coats;" "pick off tlie command- 
ers." 

General Pigot's division consisted of the 5th, 
38th, 43d, 47th, 52d Regiments, and the Marines, 
under Major Pitcairn. The 38th first took a posi- 
tion behind a stone-wall. Being joined by the 
5th, they marched up the hill. The 47th and the 
Marines moved from the battery where they 
landed directly towards the redoubt. The 43d 
and 52d advanced in front of the breastwork. 
The troops kept firing as they approached the 
lines. " They," Prescott said, '' commenced firing 
too soon, and generally fired over the heads of 
my troops; and, as they were partially covered 
by the works, but few were killed or wounded." 
When Prescott saw the enemy in motion, he went 
round the works to encourage the men, and 
assured them that the red-coats would never 
reach the redoubt if they would observe his direc- 
tions. The advancing columns, however, having 
got within gun-shot, a few of the Americans 
could not resist the temptation to return their 
fire, without waiting for orders. Prescott indig- 



46 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

nantly remonstrated at this disobedience, and 
appealed to their often-expressed confidence in 
him as their leader ; while his oflicers seconded 
his exertions, and some ran round the top of the 
parapet and kicked up the guns. At length the 
British troops reached the prescribed distance, 
and the order was given to fire ; when there was 
a simultaneous discharge from the redoubt and 
breastwork, that did terrible execution on the 
British ranks. But it was received with veteran 
firmness, and for a few minutes was sharply 
returned. The Americans, being protected by 
their works, suffered but little ; but their murder- 
ous balls literally strewed the ground with the 
dead and wounded of the enemy. General Pigot 
was obliged to order a retreat, when the exult- 
ing shout of victory rose from the American 
lines. '' On the left," a British writer says, " Pigot 
was staggered, and actually retreated by orders. 
Great pains have been taken to huddle up this 
matter." 

General Howe, in the mean time, led the right 
wing against the rail-fence. The light-infantry 
moved along the shore of Mystic River, to turn 
the extreme left of the American line, while the 
grenadiers advanced directlv in front. The Ameri- 
cans first opened on them with their field-pieces 
(Callender's) with great effect, some of the dis- 
charges being directed by Putnam ; and when 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 47 

the advancing troops deployed into line, a few, 
as at the redoubt, fired without waiting for the 
word. Putnam hastened to the spot, and threat- 
ened to cut down the next man who disobeyed. 
'' I," Philip Johnson states, ^' heard him saj^ ' Men, 
j^ou are all marksmen ; don't one of you fire until 
you see the white of their eyes.' " '' Lieutenant 
Dana tells me," Chester says, '' he was the first 
man that fired, and that he did it singly and with 
a view to draw the enemy's fire ; and he obtained 
his end fully, without any damage to our party." 
This drew the enemy's fire, which they continued 
with the regularity of troops on parade ; but their 
balls passed over the heads of the Americans. At 
length the officers gave the word, when the fire 
from the American line was given with great 
effect. Many were marksmen, intent on cutting 
down the British officers ; and when one was in 
sight, they exclaimed, '' There ! see that officer ! " 
"Let us have a shot at him!" — when two or 
three would fire at the same moment. They used 
the fence as a rest for their pieces, and the bullets 
were true to their message. The companies were 
cut up with terrible severitj^; and so great was 
the carnage, that the columns, a few moments 
before" so proud and firm in their array, were dis- 
concerted, partly broken, and then retreated. 
Many of the Americans were in favor of pursu- 
ing them, and some, with exulting huzzas, jumped 



48 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

over the fence for this purpose, but were prevented 
by the prudence of their officers. " A portion of 
the company," Captain Mann says, '' twice passed 
the fence huzzaing, supposing, at the time, that we 
had driven the enemy." 

The British are uniform in bearing testimony 
to the murderous effect of that fire. One says : 
" Our light-iiifantry were served up in companies 
against the grass fence, without being able to 
penetrate ; indeed, how could we penetrate ? 
Most of our grenadiers and light-infantry, the 
moment of presenting themselves, lost three- 
fourths, and many nine-tenths, of their men. Some 
had only eight and nine men a company left ; 
some only three, four, and five." Another says : 
'' It was found to be the strongest post that was 
ever occupied by any set of men." 

And now moments of joy succeeded the long 
hours of toil, anxiety, and peril. The American 
volunteer saw the veterans of England fly before 
his fire, and felt a new confidence in himself. The 
result was obtained, too, with but little loss on his 
side. Colonel Prescott mingled freely among his 
troops, praised their good conduct, and congratu- 
lated them on their success. He felt confident that 
another attack would soon be made, and he renewed 
his caution to reserve the fire until he gave the 
command. He found his men in high spirits, and 
elated by the retreat. In their eyes the regulars 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 49 



were no longer invincible. General Putnam rode 
to Bunker Hill, and to the rear of it, to urge on le- 
enforcements. Some had arrived at Charlestown 
Neck, but were deterred from crossing it by the 
severe fire that raked it. Portions of regiments 
had reached Bunker Hill, where they scattered. 
Colonel Gerrish was here, and confessed that he 
was exhausted. General Putnam endeavored to 
rally these troops. He used entreaty and com- 
mand, and offered to lead them into action, but 
without much effect. It is doubtful whether any 
considerable re-enforcement reached the line of de- 
fence during the short interval that elapsed before 
a second attack Avas made by the British troops. 
Captain Chester says : '' The men that went to 
intrenching overnight were in the warmest of the 
battle, and by all accounts they fought most man- 
fully. They had got hardened to the noise of can- 
non ; but those that came up as recruits were 
evidently most terribly frightened, many of them, 
and did not march up with that true courage that 
their cause ought to have inspired them with." 

General Howe in a short time rallied his troops, 
and immediately ordered another assault. They 
marched in the same order as before, and continued 
to fire as they approached the lines. But, in addi- 
tion to the previous obstacles, they were obliged to 
step over the bodies of their fallen countrymen. 
''It was surprising," a British writer says, "to see 

4 



50 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

how they would step over their dead bodies, as 
though they had been logs of wood." The artil- 
lery did more service on this attack. It moved 
along the narrow road, between the tongue of land 
and Breed's Hill, until within three hundred j^ards 
of the rail-fence, and nearly on a line with the 
breastwork, when it opened a severe fire to cover 
the advance of the infantry. The American offi- 
cers, grown confident in the success of their ma- 
noeuvre, ordered their men to withhold their fire 
until the enemy were Avithin five or six rods of the 
works. 

Charlestown, in the mean time, had been set on 
fire, — in the Square, by shells thrown from Copp's 
Hill ; and in the easterly part, by a party of ma- 
rines from the " Somerset." As the buildings were 
chiefly of wood, the conflagration spread with 
great rapidity. There was now one of the greatest 
scenes of war that can be conceived. To fill the 
eye, — a brilliantly appointed army advancing to 
the attack and storming the works, supported by 
co-operating ships and batteries ; the blaze of the 
burning town, coursing whole streets, or curling 
up the spires of public edifices ; the air above filled 
with clouds of dense black smoke, and the sur- 
rounding hills, fields, roofs, and steeples occupied 
by crowds of spectators : to fill the ear, — the 
shouts of the contending armies, the crash of the 
falling buildings, and the roar of the cannon, 



THE BURNING OF Cff ABLEST OWN, 51 

mortars, and musketry: to fill the mind, — the 
high courage of men staking not only their lives, 
but their reputation, on the uncertain issue of a 
civil war, and the intense emotions of the near 
and dear connections standing in their presence ; 
and, on the other side, the reflection that a defeat 
of the regulars would be a final loss to British em- 
pire in America. " I have seen many actions," 
writes General Jones, the colonel of the 52d Reg 
iment, June 19, 1775, " but the solemn procession 
preparative to this, in embarking the troops in 
the boats, the order in which they rode across the 
harbor, their alertness in making good their land- 
ing, their instantly forming in front of the enemy 
and marching to action, was a grand, interesting 
sight to all concerned." ..." The army that had no 
share in the action, the sailors on board the ships 
of war and transports, the inhabitants from the 
rising grounds, and from windows and the tops 
of houses, were spectators, and beheld with aston- 
ishment true British valor, . . . saw the rebels, 
forced from their cover, . . . leaving Charlestown in 
flames, when houses would no longer shelter them." 
No description of this scene is more graphic than 
that of General Burgoyne, who witnessed the bat- 
tle from Copp's Hill. He terms it " a complication 
of horror and importance beyond any thing that 
ever came to my lot to witness." "Sure I am, 
nothing ever has or can be more dreadfully terrible 



52 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 



than what was to be seen or heard at this time, 
The most incessant discharge of guns that ever waj 
heard with mortal ears." 

" Amazing scene ! what shuddering prospects rise ! 
What horrors glare beneath the angry skies ! 
The rapid flames o'er Charlestown's height ascend, — 
To heaven they reach ! urged by the boisterous wind. 
The mournful crash of falling domes resound, 
And tottering spires witli sparkles seek the ground. 
One general burst of ruin reigns o'er all ; 
The burning city thunders to its fall ! 
O'er mingled noises the vast ruin sounds ; 
Spectators weep ! earth from her centre groans ! 
Beneath prodigious unextinguished fires 
Ill-fated Charlestown welters and expires." 



In strange contrast, the day was calm and clear, 
— nature, in its beauty and repose, smiling serenely 
upon it all, as if in token of the triumphant end of 
the great conflict. 

The burning of the town neither intimidated the 
Americans nor covered the attack on their lines. 
The wind directed the smoke so as to leave a full 
view of the approach of the British columns, which 
kept firing as they advanced. Colonels Brewer, 
Nixon, and Buckminster were wounded, and Ma- 
jor- Moore was mortally wounded. In general, 
however, the balls of the British did but little exe- 
cution, as their aim was bad, and the intrench- 
ments protected the Americans. At length, at the 
prescribed distance, the fire was again given, which. 



THE BURNING OF CHARLESTOWN. 53 

in its fatal impartiality, prostrated whole ranks of 
officers and men. The enemy stood the shock, and 
continued to advance with great spirit ; but the 
continued stream of fire that issued from the whole 
American line was even more destructive than 
before. " The discharge," says Judge Prescott, 
"was simultaneous the whole length of the line, 
and though more destructive, as Colonel Prescott 
thought, than on the former assault, the enemy 
stood the first shock, and continued to advance and 
fire with great spirit ; but before reaching the re- 
doubt, the continuous, well-directed fire of the 
Americans compelled them to give way, and they 
retreated a second time, in greater disorder than 
before. Their officers were seen remonstrating, 
threatening, and even pricking and striking the 
soldiers, to urge them on, but in vain. Colonel 
Prescott spoke of it as a continued stream of fire 
from his whole line, from the first discharge until 
the retreat. The ground in front of the works 
was covered with the dead and wounded, — some 
lying within a few yards." '' My God ! " Putnam 
said, '' I never saw such a carnage of the human 
race ! " 

General Howe, opposite the rail-fence, was in 
the hottest of it. Two of his aids, and other offi- 
cers near him, were shot down, and at times he 
was left almost alone. A British officer says : 
" He was three times in the field left by himself, 



64 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

SO numerous were the killed and wounded about 
him." The British were compelled again to give 
way ; and they retreated even in greater disorder 
than before, many running towards the boats. The 
British acknowledgments are generous : " They 
once ran and filled some of their boats." " Twice 
were they stopped, and twice returned to the 
charge." " It required the utmost exertion in all the 
officers, from the generals down to the subalterns, 
to repair the disorder which this hot and unex-* 
pected fire produced." '' The king's troops gave way 
several times, and it required the utmost efforts of 
the generals to rally them." " A moment of the day 
was critical; Howe's left was staggered." The 
ground in front of the American works was covered 
with the killed and the wounded. 

So long a time elapsed before the British came 
up again, that some of the officers thouglit they 
would not renew the attack. General Putnam 
was on Bunker Hill, and in the rear of it, urging 
forward the re-enforcements. Much delay occurred 
in marching these to the field. Indeed, great con- 
fusion existed at Cambridge. General Ward was 
not sufficiently supplied with staff-officers to bear 
his orders ; and some were neglected, and others 
were given incorrectly. Henry Knox, afterwards 
General Knox, aided as a volunteer during the da}'-, 
and was engaged in reconnoitre service. Late in 
the day General Ward despatched his own regi- 



THE BURNING OF CHARLES TOWN, 65 

ment, Patterson's and Gardner's, to the battle-field. 
Colonel Gardner arrived on Bunker Hill, when 
Putnam detained a part of his regiment to labor on 
the works commenced there, while one company, 
under Captain Josiah Harris, took post at the rail- 
fence. Part of a regiment, under Lieutenant- 
Colonel Ward, arrived at a critical time of the 
battle. Other regiments, from various causes, 
failed to reach the lines. Major Gridley, of the 
artillery, inade^quate to his position, with part of 
the battalion, marched a short distance on Cam- 
bridge road, then halted, and resolved to cover the 
retreat, which he thought to be inevitable. Colo- 
nel Frye, fresh from the battle, urged him forward ; 
but Gridley, appalled by the horrors of the scene, 
ordered his men to fire at the " Glasgow," and bat- 
teries from Cobble Hill. He also ordered Colonel 
Mansfield to sup[X)rt him with his regiment, who, 
violating his orders, obeyed. Captain Trevett, 
however, disobeyed his superior, led his company, 
with two field-pieces, to Bunker Hill, where he 
lost one of them, but drew the other to the rail- 
fence. Colonel Scammans was ordered to go 
where the fighting was, and went to Lechmere's 
Point. Here he was ordered to march to the hill, 
which he understood to mean Cobble Hill, whence 
he sent a messenger to General Putnam to inquire 
whether his regiment was wanted. This delay 
prevented it from reaching the field in season to 



56 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 



do any good. A part of Gerrisb's regiment, under 
Mighil, marched from Cambridge to Ploughed 
Hill, where Adjutant Christian Febiger, a gallant 
Danish soldier who had seen service, took the com- 
mand, called upon the men to follow him, and 
reached the heights in season to render valuable 
service. Three additional Connecticut companies, 
at least, under Captains Chester, Clark, and Coit, 
arrived in time to take part in the battle ; as did 
also Major Durkee, an old comrade of General 
Putnam. Captain Chester marched on near the 
close of the engagement, while the British were 
coming up the third time. Three regiments were 
near him when he left Cambridge, which hastened 
forward in advance of his company ; but when 
Chester overtook them, at Bunker Hill, there was 
hardly a company in any kind of order. The men 
had scattered behind rocks, hay-cocks, and apple- 
trees. Parties, also, were continually retreating 
from the field; some alleging they had left the 
fort with leave because thej^ had been all night and 
day on fatigue without sleep or refreshment ; some 
that they had no officers to lead them ; frequently, 
twenty Avere about a wounded man, when not a 
quarter part could touch him to advantage ; while 
others were going off Avithout any excuse. Ches- 
ter obliged one company, rank and file, to return 
to the lines. Lieutenant Webb writes : " We met 
many of our worthy friends, wounded, sweltering 



THE BURNING OF CHARLESTOWN. 67 

in their blood, carried on the shoulders by their 
fellow-soldiers. Judge you what must be our 
feelings at this shocking spectacle ; the orders 
were, press on^ press on^ our brethren are suffering, 
and will be cut off." 

While such was the confusion on Bunker Hill, 
good order prevailed at the redoubt. Colonel 
Prescott remained at his post, determined in his 
purpose, undaunted in his bearing, inspiring his 
command with hope and confidence, and yet cha- 
grined, that, in this hour of peril and glory, ade- 
quate support had not reached him. He passed 
round the lines to encourage his men, and assured 
them that if the British were once more driven 
back they could not be rallied again. His men 
cheered him as they replied, '' We are ready for 
the red-coats again ! " But his worst apprehen- 
sions, as to ammunition, were realized as the report 
was made to him that a few artillery cartridges 
constituted the whole stock of powder on hand. 
He ordered them to be opened, and the powder to 
be distributed. He charged his soldiers ''not to 
waste a kernel of it, but to make it certain that 
every shot should tell." He directed the few who 
had bayonets to be stationed at the points most 
likely to be scaled. These were the only prepara- 
tions it was in his power to make to meet his 
powerful antagonist. 

General Howe^ exasperated at the repeated re- 



58 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 



pulses of his troops, resolved to make anothei 
assault. Some of his officers remonstrated against 
this decision, and averred that it would be down- 
right butchery to lead the men on again ; but Brit- 
ish honor was at stake, and other officers preferred 
any sacrifice rather than suffer defeat from a col- 
lection of armed rustics. The boats were at Bos- 
ton ; there was no retreat : " Fight, conquer, or 
die ! " was their repeated exclamation. A second 
re-enforcement of four hundred marines, under 
Major Small, had landed ; and General Clinton, 
who had witnessed from Copp's Hill the discom- 
fiture of the British veterans, and saw two reg- 
iments on the beach in confusion, threw himself 
into a boat, crossed the river, joined General Howe 
as a volunteer, and rendered essential aid in rally- 
ing the troops. ''We," a British relation says, 
'' should have been forced to retire if General 
Clinton had not come up with a re-enforcement of 
five or six hundred men." The troops had lost 
their confident air, appeared disheartened, and man- 
ifested great reluctance to marching up a third 
time. The officers at length formed them for the 
last desperate assault. The British general had 
learned to respect his enemy, and adopted a wiser 
mode of attack. '' One error," Stedman says, was, 
" that instead of confining our attack to the enemy's 
left wing only, the assault was made on the whole 
front;" and he now profited by this experience. 



THE BURNING OF CHARLES TOWN 69 

He ordered the men to lay aside their knapsacks, 
to move forward in column, to reserve their fire, to 
rely on the bayonet, to direct their main attack on 
the redoubt, and to push the artillery forward to a 
position that would enable it to rake the breast- 
work. The gallant execution of these orders re- 
versed the fortunes of the day. 

General Howe, whose fine figure and gallant 
bearing were observed at the American lines, led 
the grenadiers and light-infantry in front of the 
breastwork, while Generals Clinton and Pigot led 
the extreme left of the troops to scale the redoubt. 
A demonstration only was made against the rail- 
fence. A party of Americans occupied a few 
houses and barns that had escaped the conflagra- 
tion on the acclivity of Breed's Hill, and feebly 
annoyed the advancing columns. They, in return, 
only discharged a few scattering guns as they 
marched forward. On their right the artillery soon 
gained its appointed station, enfiladed the line of 
the breastwork, drove its defenders into the redoubt 
for protection, and did much execution within it 
by sending its balls through the passage-way. All 
this did not escape the keen and anxious eye of 
Prescott. When he saw the new dispositions of 
his antagonist, the artillery wheeling into its mur- 
derous position, and the columns withholding their 
fire, he well understood his intention to concen-. 
trate his whole force on the redoubt, and believed 



60 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

that it must inevitably be carried. He thought, 
however, that duty, honor, and the interest of the 
country, required that it should be defended to the 
last extremity, although at a certain sacrifice of many 
lives. In this trying moment, he continued to give 
his orders coolly. Most of his men had remaining 
only one round of ammunition, and few more than 
three rounds ; and he directed them to reserve their 
fire until the British were within twenty yards. 
At this distance a deadly volley was poured upon 
the advancing columns, which made them waver 
for an instant ; but they sprang forward without 
returning it. The American fire soon slackened 
for want of means, while the columns of Clinton 
and Pigot reached a position on the southern and 
eastern sides of the redoubt, where they were pro- 
tected by its walls. It was now attacked on three 
sides at once. Prescott ordered those who had no 
bayonets to retire to the back part of it, and fire 
on the enemy as they showed themselves on the 
parapet. A soldier of noble bearing mounted the 
southern side, and had barely shouted, '' Tlie day 
is ours ! " when he was shot down, and the whole 
front rank shared his fate. At this time Major 
Pitcairn fell. Major Tupper then took the com- 
mand, and pressed on towards the redoubt. Young 
Richardson, of the Royal Irish, was the first to 
mount the parapet. The remains of the gren- 
adiers of the 63d Regiment were the first that 



THE RETREAT OF THE AMERICANS. 61 

entered the redoubt. After Captain Horsford had 
been wounded, and Lieutenant Dalrymple had been 
killed, a sergeant took the command, made a speech 
to the few men left, saying, '' We must either con- 
quer or die," and entered the works. 

But the defenders had spent their ammunition, 
— another cannon cartridge furnishing the powder 
for the last muskets that were fired. Its substi- 
tute, stones, revealed their weakness, and filled 
the enemy with hope. The redoubt was soon suc- 
cessfully scaled. General Pigot, by the aid of a 
tree, mounted a corner of it, and was closely fol- 
lowed by his men, when one side of it literally 
bristled with bayonets. The conflict was now car- 
ried on hand to hand. Many stood and received 
wounds with swords and bayonets. But the Brit- 
ish continued to enter, and were advancing towards 
the Americans, when Prescott gave the order to 
retreat. 

When the Americans left the redoubt, the dust 
arising from the dry, loose dirt was so great that 
the outlet was hardly visible. Some ran over the 
top, and others hewed their way through the ene- 
my's ranks. Prescott, among the last to leave, 
was surrounded by the British, who made passes 
at him with the bayonet, which he skilfully parried 
with his sword. " He did not run, but stepped 
long, with his sword up," escaping unharmed, 
though his banyan and waistcoat were pierced in 



b 



62 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

several places. The retiring troops passed between 
two divisions of the British, one of which had 
turned the north-eastern end of the breastwork, 
and the other had come round the angle of the re- 
doubt ; but they were too much exhausted to use 
tlie bayonet effectually, and the combatants, for 
fifteen or twenty rods from the redoubt, were so 
mingled together that firing would have destroyed 
friend and foe. The British, with cheers, took 
possession of the works, but immediately formed, 
and delivered a destructive fire upon the retreating 
troops. Warren, at this period, was killed, and 
left on the field ; Gridley was wounded ; Bridge 
was again wounded ; and the loss of the Americans 
was greater than at any previous period of the ac- 
tion. Colonel Gardner, leading on a part of his 
regiment, was descending Bunker Hill, when he 
received his death-wound. Still his men, under 
Major Jackson, pressed forward, and, with Cush- 
ing's. Smith's, and Washburn's companies of Ward's 
regiment, and Febiger's party of Gerrish's regi- 
ment, poured between Breed's and Bunker Hill a 
well-directed fire upon the enemj^, and gallantly 
covered their retreat. 

In the mean time, the Americans at the rail-fence, 
under Stark, Reed, and Knowlton, re-enforced by 
Clark's, Coit's, and Chester's Connecticut compa- 
nies. Captain Harris's company of Gardner's regi- 
ment, Lieutenant-Colonel Ward, and a few troops, 



THE RETREAT OF THE AMERICANS, 63 

maintained their ground with great firmness and 
intrepidity, and successfully resisted every attempt 
to turn their flank. This line, indeed, was nobly 
defended. The force here did a great service, for 
it saved the main body, who were retreating in dis- 
order from the redoubt, from being cut off by the 
enemy. When it was perceived at the rail-fence 
that the force under Colonel Prescott had left the 
hill, these brave men "gave ground, but with more 
regularity than could have been expected of troops 
j who had been no longer under discipline, and many 
I of whom never before saw an engagement." The 
whole body of Americans were now in full retreat, 
I the greater part over the top of Bunker Hill. 

The brow of Bunker Hill was a place of great 
slaughter. General Putnam here rode to the rear 
of the retreating troops, and, regardless of the 
balls flying about him, with his sword drawn, and 
! still undaunted in his bearing, urged them to renew 
I the tight in the unfinished works. " Make a stand 
here," he exclaimed ; " we can stop them yet ! " 
"In^God's name, form, and give them one shot 
more ! " It was here that he stood by an artillery 
piece until the enemy's bayonets were almost upon 
him. The veteran Pomeroy, too, with his shattered 
musket in his hand, and his face to the foe, en- 
deavored to rally the men. It was not possible, 
however, to check the retreat. Captain Trevett 
and a few of his men, with great difficulty and 
great gallantry, drew off the only field-piece that 



64 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

was saved of the six that were in the action. 
Colonel Scammans, with part of his regiment, and 
Captain Foster's artillery company, on their way to 
the field of battle, reached the top of Bunker Hill, 
but immediately retreated. The whole body retired 
over the Neck, amidst the shot from the enemy's 
ships and batteries, and were met by additional 
troops on their way to the heights. Among them 
Major Brooks, with two remaining companies of 
Bridge's regiment. One piece of cannon at the 
Neck opened on the enemy, and covered the re- 
treat. 

The British troops, about five o'clock, with a 
parade of triumph, took possession of the same 
hill that had served them for a retreat on the 
memorable 19th of April. General Howe was 
here advised by General Clinton to follow up his 
success by an immediate attack on Cambridge. But 
the reception he had met made the British com- 
mander cautious, if not timid ; and he only fired 
two field-pieces upon the Americans, who retreated 
to Winter Hill, Prospect Hill, and Cambridge. 
Similar apprehensions were entertained on both 
sides respecting a renewal of the attack : the 
Americans at Winter and Prospect Hills lay on 
their arms, while the British, re-enforced by addi- 
tional troops from Boston, threw up during the 
night a line of breastwork on the northern side of 
Bunker Hill. Both sides, however, felt indisposed 
to renew the action. The loss of the peninsula 



THE RETREAT OF THE AMERICANS, 65 

damped the ardor of the Americans, and the loss 
of men depressed the spirit of the British. 

Preseott, indignant at the absence of support 
when victory was within his grasp, repaired to 
head-quarters, reported the issue of the battle, 
already too well known, and received the thanks 
of the Commander-in-chief. He found General 
Ward under great apprehensions lest the enemy, 
encouraged by success, should advance on Cam- 
bridge, where he had neither disciplined troops 
nor an adequate supply of ammunition to receive 
him. Preseott, however, assured him that the 
confidence of the British would not be increased 
by the result of the battle ; he always thought he 
could have maintained his post with the handful 
of men under his command, exhausted as they 
were by fatigue and hunger, if they had been sup- 
plied with sufficient ammunition and with bayo- 
nets ; and he offered to retake the hill that night, 
or perish in the attempt, if three regiments of 
fifteen hundred men, well equipped with ammuni- 
tion and bayonets, were put under his command. 
Ward wisely decided that the condition of his army 
would not justify so bold a measure. Nor was it 
needed to fill the measure of Prescott's fame. " He 
had not yet done enough to satisfy himself, though 
he had done enough to satisfy his country. He had 
not, indeed, secured final victory, but he had se- 
cured a glorious immortality." 

5 



66 BATTLE OF BUNKER BILL. 



IV. 



Character of the Battle. The Question of Com- 
mand. Prescott. Putnam. Warren. Pomeroy. 

nPHE battle of Bunker Hill is remarkable on 
"^ many accounts, — in being the first great 
battle of the revolutionary contest ; in the aston- 
ishing resistance made by inexperienced militia 
against veteran troops ; in the affecting character 
of its prominent incidents ; in the sublimity of its 
spectacle ; and in its influence on the fortunes of 
the war. It proved the quality of the American 
soldier. It was a victory, with all the moral effect 
of victory, under the name of a defeat. And yet, 
at first, it was regarded with disappointment, and 
even with indignation ; and contemporary accounts 
of it, whether private or official, are rather in the 
tone of apology, or of censure, than of exultation. 
The enterprise, on the whole, was pronounced rash 
in the conception and discreditable in the execu- 
tion. A severe scrutiny was instituted into the 
conduct of those Avho were charged with having 
contributed by their backwardness to the result. 
No one, for years, came forward to claim the honor 
of having directed it; no notice was taken of its 
returning anniversary; and no narrative did justice 



CHARACTER OF THE BATTLE. 67 

to the regiments that were engaged, or to the offi- 
cers who were in command. The bravery, how- 
ever, of those who fought it was so resolute, and 
their self-devotion was so lofty, as at once to elicit, 
from all quarters, the most glowing commendation, 
and to become the theme of the poet and the ora- 
tor. " To a mind," said Governor Johnstone, in 
the House of Commons, '' who loves to contemplate 
the glorious spirit of freedom, no spectacle can be 
more affecting than the action at Bunker's Hill. 
To see an irregular peasantry, commanded by a 
physician, inferior in number, opposed by every 
circumstance of cannon and bombs that could ter- 
rify timid minds, calmly wait the attack of the 
gallant Howe, leading on the best troops in the 
world, with an excellent train of artillery, and 
twice repulsing those very troops, who had often 
chased the chosen battalions of France, and at last 
retiring for want of ammunition, but in so respect- 
able a manner that they were not even pursued, — 
who can reflect on such scenes, and not adore the 
constitution of government which could breed such 
men ! " 

As time rolled on, its connection with the great 
movement of the age appeared in its true light. 
Hence the battle of Bunker Hill now stands out as 
the grand opening scene in the drama of the Amer- 
ican Revolution. 

It has been remarked that, in a military point of 



68 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

view, it would be difficult to assigri a just motive 
to either party for this conflict. It was not yery 
important for the American army to hem in the 
British army in Boston, by a force posted so near 
as Bunker Hill, when that object could be accom- 
plished by a force a little farther in the rear. 
While, on the other hand, if the British officers 
had nothing else in view but to dislodge the occu- 
pants of Breed's Hill, it was perfectly competent 
for them, as they commanded the Mystic and the 
Charles Rivers, to cut off all communication, and 
to reduce Prescott and his men to famine. The 
truth is, both parties were ready and anxious and 
determined to try the strength of their arms. The 
Americans felt confident in their ability at least to 
prevent another excursion into the country. On 
the other hand, British pride was touched by this 
exultation and daring, and by the reflection that 
predictions as to the courage of the Americans and 
the invincibility of the regulars had been so com- 
pletely falsified. Two regiments — it had been writ- 
ten — were sufficient to beat the whole strength 
of the province ; and a force of five thousand was 
sufficient to overrun the whole of the colonies. 
Never had high-sounding manifesto been followed 
by such niprtifying results. The veterans who were 
expected to make this triumphal march were so 
closely blockaded, by the force that was pronounced 
so impotent and was so despised, that their luxuri- 



CHARACTER OF THE BATTLE. 69 

ous fare was suddenly changed into salt provision. 
Thus their daily food stimulated their desire for 
retaliation. Besides, the army was sent over to 
bring the Americans to a sense of their duty, and 
it loi.ged to give them one good drubbing as a 
necessary step towards it. When, therefore, the 
British officers saw the redoubt, and saw it filled 
with its daring band, they could not permit that it 
should " stand in their very face, and defy them 
to their teeth." Without calculating the cost, or 
without caring for it, their object was to destroy 
the works at once, by the power of the royal army, 
and to take vengeance, as well as to attain secu- 
rity. 

The reason for issuing the order to fortify Bunker 
Hill has been stated. The Council of War had 
decided not to occupy so exposed a post until the 
army was better prepared to defend it. But when 
it was certainly known that the enemy had deter- 
mined to move into the country, the Committee of 
Safety, with that disregard of consequences which 
characterizes so remarkably the early stage of the 
revolutionary struggle, advised that this movement 
should be anticipated. The decision has been pro- 
nounced rash. It was followed by desolation and 
carnage. Much precious blood was shed. Even 
the '' beauty of Israel fell upon his high places." 
This daring decision, however, was productive of 
consequences of the highest importance, which a 



70 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

less terrible ordeal would scarcelj^ have produced. 
They extended throughout the war. '' The reso- 
lution," General Wilkinson says, " displayed by 
the provincials on this memorable day produced 
effects auspicious to the American cause, and co- 
extensive with the war ; for, although compelled 
by superior numbers to yield the ground, the obsti- 
nacy of their resistance put an end to that confi- 
dence with which they had been first attacked, and 
produced measures of caution bordering on timid- 
ity. There can be no doubt that we were indebted 
to these causes for the unmolested occupancj^ of 
our position before Boston." . . . ''To the cool 
courage and obstinacj^ displayed on the occasion, 
and the moral influence of the bloody lesson which 
Sir William Howe received on that day, we must 
ascribe the military phenomenon of a motley band 
of undisciplined American j^eomanrj^, scarcely supe- 
rior in number, holding an army of British veterans 
in close siege for nine months ; and hence it might 
fairly be inferred that our independence was essen- 
tially promoted by the consequence of this single 
battle." 

General Lee, also a soldier of the Revolution, 
says : " The sad and impressive experience of this 
murderous day sunk deep into the mind of Sir 
William Howe ; and it seems to have had its influ- 
ence on all its subsequent operations, with decisive 
control." 



CHARACTER OF THE BATTLE. 71 

One of the more immediate of its results — the 
great political service of the battle — was to pro- 
mote a state of general hostility. This already 
existed in Massachusetts, where war, and nothing 
short of war, had been fully resolved upon ; but it 
did not exist in some of the other colonies, where 
the spirit raised by the Lexington alarm had soft- 
ened into a desire of reconciliation. How different, 
for instance, was the state of things in New York, 
where the same military companies were directed 
by the Provincial Congress to escort, on the same 
day. General Washington to the seat of war, and 
Governor Tryon to the seat of power ! But after 
it had been demonstrated that the New England 
militia had stood the attack of the British regulars, 
and had twice repulsed them, after Warren had 
fallen, and Charlestown had been destroyed, affairs 
changed their aspect. New confidence was felt in 
the American arms. There were new justifying 
causes for open war. The other colonies became 
arrayed in hostility, side by side, with Massachu- 
setts. And it was certain that peace could never 
be established between the two countries, except 
on the basis of an acknowledgment of American 
independence ! 

The commanding officers felt that the army was 
not prepared for such a conflict. The want of 
subordination and discipline rendered efficient mili- 
tary command impossible, and hence the proceed- 



72 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

ings throughout the day were characterized bj 
great confusion. The evidence on this point, earlj 
and late, is uniform and decisive, and it relates 
both to transactions at Cambridge and at Charles 
town. During the battle the influence of Colone 
Prescott over his men preserved order at his posi 
tion. Says Captain Bancroft, who was in the 
redoubt, ''He continued through the hottest of 
the fight to display admirable coolness, and a self- 
possession that would do honor to the greatest 
hero of any age. He gave his orders deliberately 
and how effectually they were obeyed I need no 
tell." But in other parts of the field the troops 
fought rather in platoons, or individually, — com 
panics entirely losing their order, — than undei 
regular commands ; and in some instances, where 
superior officers attempted to exercise authority, 
their orders were openly disregarded. Even the 
orders of General Ward were but feebly carriec 
into effect. Much of this delinquency must be 
placed at the door of inefficiency on the part of 
some of the officers ; but much of it also must be 
ascribed to an absence of the principle of subordi- 
nation, from the generals to the lower officers 
The prompt action of Connecticut, relative to a^ 
commander-in-chief, shows that the evil was felt in 
its full force. 

It is from this cause — the want of subordina- 
tion, and the confusion — that it is a question 



THE QUESTION OF COMMAND. 73 

whether there was a general authorized com- 
mander in the battle. Had the army been fully 
organized, and had the rank of the officers been 
established, such a question could not have arisen. 
'- It is not one of recent origin, for there w^as the 
' same perplexity on this point, immediately after 
', the battle, that exists now; and inquiries in rela- 
' tion to it elicited equally unsatisfactory answers. 
; The Orderly Book of General Ward not only is 
' silent on it, but contains no orders for the conduct 
' of the enterprise. Nor is this deficiency entirely 
j supplied by any contemporary document. Yet it 
' is from authorities of this character that a correct 
conclusion must be drawn. 

The conclusion warranted by the evidence is, 
that the original detachment was placed under the 
orders of Colonel Prescott, and that no general 
officer was authorized to command over him during 
the battle. He was detached on a special service, 
and he faithfully executed his orders. He filled at 
( the redoubt the most important post, the duty of a 
' commanding officer, from the hour that ground was 
broken until it was abandoned. He detached guards 
to the shores, directed the labor of the works, 
called councils of war, made applications to Gen- 
eral Ward for re-enforcements, posted his men for 
action, fouglit with them until resistance was un- 
availing, and gave the^ order to retreat. General 
officers came to this position; but they did not 



74 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

give him an order, nor interfere with his dispositions. 
Wlien General Warren, for instance, entered the 
redoubt, Colonel Prescott tendered to him the 
command; but Warren replied that he had not 
received his commission, and should serve as a 
volunteer. '' I shall be happy," he said, '' to learn 
from a soldier of your experience." Colonel Pres- 
cott, therefore, was left in uncontrolled possession 
of his post. Nor is there any proof that he gave 
an order at the rail-fence, or on Bunker Hill. But 
he remained at the redoubt, and there fought the 
battle with such coolness, bravery, and discretion, 
as to win the unbounded applause of his contem- 
poraries, and to deserve, through all time, the 
admiration of his countrymen. 

General Putnam exhibited throughout the brav- 
ery and generous devotion that formed a part of 
his nature. Though of limited education, fiery 
and rough in speech, he was a true patriot, and a 
fine executive oflBcer. He was in command of the 
Connecticut troops stationed in Cambridge, and 
shared with them the peril and glory of this re- 
markable day. In a regularly organized army his 
appearance on the field, by virtue of his rank, 
would have given him the command. But it was 
an army of allies, whose jealousies had not yielded 
to the vital principle of subordination ; and he was 
present rather as the patriotic volunteer than as 
the authorized general commander. He exercised 



WARREN, 75 

an important agency in the battle. He was re- 
ceived as a welcome counsellor, both at the laying 
out of the works and during the morning of the 
engagement. Besides being in the hottest of the 
action at the rail-fence and on Bunker Hill, — 
fighting, beyond a question, with daring intrepid- 
ity, — he was applied to for orders by the re-en- 
forcements that reached the field, and he gave 
orders without being applied to. Some of the offi- 
cers not under his immediate command respected 
his authority, while others refused to obey him. 
But no service was more brilliant than that of the 
Connecticut troops, and they said: ''He acts nobly 
in every thing." That he was not as successful in 
leading the Massachusetts troops into action ought, 
in justice, to be ascribed neither to his lack of 
energy nor of conduct, but to the hesitancy of 
inexperienced troops, to the want of spirit in their 
officers, and to the absence of subordination and 
discipline in the army. He did not give an order 
to Colonel Prescott, nor was he in the redoubt 
during the action. 

General Warren exerted great influence in the 
battle. Having served zealously and honorably in 
the incipient councils that put in motion the 
machinery of the Revolution, he had decided to 
devote his energies to promote it in its future 
battle-fields. He was accordingly elected major- 
general on the 14th of June, but had not received 
his commission on the day of the battle. 



76 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

He mingled in the fight, behaved with great 
bravery, and was among the last to leave the re- 
doubt. He was lingering, even to rashness, in his 
retreat. He had proceeded but a few rods, when 
a ball struck him in the forehead, and he fell to 
the ground. On the next day, visitors to the 
battle-field — among them Dr. Jeffries and young 
Winslow, afterwards General Winslow, of Bos- 
ton — recognized his body, and it was buried on 
the spot where he fell. After the British had left 
Boston, the sacred remains were sought after, and 
again identified. In April they were re-interred, 
with appropriate ceremonies, when Perez Morton 
delivered a eulogy. 

The intelligence of his death spread a gloom 
over the country. The many allusions to him, in 
contemporary letters and in the journals, indicate 
how strong a hold he had on the affections of his 
countrymen. '' The ardor of dear Dr. Warren," 
says one, " could not be restrained by the entreaty 
of his brethren of the Congress, and he is, alas, 
among the slain! May eternal happiness be his 
eternal portion." Mrs. Adams, July 5, writes: 
" Not all the havoc and devastation they have 
made has wounded me like the death of Warren. 
We want him in the senate ; we want him in his 
profession ; we want him in the field. We mourn x 
for the citizen, the senator, the physician, and the 
warrior." General Howe could hardly credit the 



POMEROY. 77 

report that the president of Congress was among 
, the killed ; and when assured of it by Dr. Jeffries, 
' he is said to have declared that this victim was 
worth five hundred of their men. Nor was his 
death known for a certainty at Cambridge until a 
few days after the battle. On the 19th of June, 
the vote of the Provincial Congress, in assigning a 
time to choose hi^ successor, says he was " sup- 
posed to be killed." 

Eloquence and song, the good and the great, 
have united in eulogy on this illustrious patriot 
and early martyr to the cause of the freedom of 
America. No one personified more completely 
the fine enthusiasm and the self-sacrificing patriot- 
ism that first rallied to its support. No one was 
more widely beloved, or was more highly valued. 
The language of the Committee of Safety, who 
knew his character, and appreciated his service, 
though brief, is full, touching, and prophetic : 
''Among the dead was Major-General Joseph 
Warren ; a man whose memory will be endeared 
to his countrymen, and to the worthy in every 
part and age of the world, so long as virtue and 
valor shall be esteemed among mankind." 
P General Seth Pomeroy behaved so well in the 
battle, that in some of the accounts he is assigned 
a separate command. He served as a volunteer. 
He fought with great spirit, and kept with the 
troops until the retreat. His musket was shattered 



78 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

by a ball, but he retained it, and with it continued 
to animate the men. He thought it strange that 
Warren, " the young and chivalrous soldier," says 
Colonel Swett, '' the eloquent and enlightened 
legislator, should fall, and he escape, old and 
useless, unhurt." Soon after the battle, he de- 
clined, on account of age, the appointment as first 
brigadier-general of the army, but as colonel com- 
manded a regiment in the Jerseys. His exposure 
brought on pleurisy, and he died at Peekskill, 
New York. 



SERVICES OF THE REGIMENTS, 79 



Services of the Regiments. Notices of the Offi- 
cers. Numbers engaged. British Criticism. De- 
struction of Charlestown. 



I 



T is difficult to assign with precision tlie credit 
due to the American regiments engaged in 
the Bunker Hill battle. None of the early ac- 
counts mention them in detail. No official report 
specifies the service they performed. And the 
only guide, in the printed material of 1775, is a 
list of the killed and wounded of each regiment, 
that appeared in a Providence newspaper. The 
official returns of the army, previous to June 17, 
are very imperfect, while those of a later date con- 
tain names of soldiers not in the action. 

William Prescott's regiment, from Middlesex, 
was commissioned May 26, and a return of this 
date is the latest, before the battle, I have seen. 
Its lieutenant-colonel, John Robinson, and its 
major, Henry Wood, behaved with great coolness 
and bravery. Its adjutant, William Green, was 
wounded. Captains Maxwell and Farwell were 
badly wounded; and Lieutenants Faucett and 
Brown were wounded, — the former mortally, and 
was left in the hands of the enemy. Lieutenant 



80 BATTLE OF BUNKER UILL, 

Prescott, a nephew of the colonel, and probably 
of this regiment, received a ball in the arm, but 
continued to load his musket, and was passing by 
the sally-port to discharge it when a cannon-shot 
cut him in pieces. A company of fifty-nine men 
from Hollis, New Hampshire, under Captain Reu- 
ben Dow, was commissioned May 19. They 
worked all the night of tlie IGth, fought bravely 
the next day. Eight were killed. 

James Frye's regiment, from Essex, was com- 
missioned May 20. James Bricket was lieutenant- 
colonel; Thomas Poor, major; Daniel Hardy, 
adjutant ; Thomas Kittredge, surgeon. Frye did 
not go with his regiment on the 16th, on account 
of indisposition; but was in the battle, and be- 
haved with spirit. Bricket, a physician, was 
wounded, went to Bunker Hill, and attended the 
wounded. The service of a colored man, Salem 
Poor, elicited the declaration from fourteen officers 
— one of them Prescott — that he behaved like an 
experienced officer, and that "in his person cen- 
tred a brave and gallant soldier." 

Eb.enezer Bridge's regiment was commissioned 
May 27. Moses Parker was lieutenant-colonel ; 
John Brooks, major ; Joseph Fox, adjutant ; John 
Bridge, quartermaster. A return, dated June 23, 
gives but nine companies belonging to it. Though 
the whole regiment was ordered to parade on the 
16th of June, j'et it is stated that three of its com- 



NOTICES OF THE OFFICERS. 81 

paiiies did not go on under Colonel Prescott. Ford's 
company reached the field just before the action 
began ; and a portion of this regiment, — two com- 
panies, — under Major Brooks, were on the way 
to the liill when the Americans w^ere retreating. 
Colonel Bridge, though wounded on the head and 
in the neck by a sword-cut, and though he was 
one of the last to retreat, did not escape the scru- 
tiny that took place in relation to the battle. It 
was charged against him that he kept too cautiously 
covered in the redoubt. He was tried', and ac- 
quitted on the ground of indisposition of body. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Parker was a skilful and brave 
veteran of the French wars, and behaved with great 
gallantry in the action. A ball fractured his knee, 
and he was left in the redoubt. The British carried 
him a prisoner to Boston, lodged him in the jail, 
where, after the amputation of his leg, he died on 
the 4th of July, aged fortj^-three. He was a good 
officer, much beloved by his regiment, and his loss 
was severely felt. An obituary notice of him — in 
the '^New England Chronicle," July 21,1775 — 
says : " In him fortitude, prudence, humanity, and 
compassion all conspired to heighten the lustre of 
his military virtues ; " and it states that, " through 
the several commissions to which his merit entitled 
him, he had always the pleasure to find that he pos- 
sessed the esteem and respect of his soldiers, and 
the applause of his countrymen." The notice con- 

6 



82 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

eludes in the following strain : "- God grant each 
individual that now is, or may be, engaged in the 
American army an equal magnitude of soul ; so 
shall their names, unsullied, be transmitted in the 
latest catalogue of fame ; and if any vestiges of 
liberty shall remain, their praises shall be rehearsed 
through the earth, ' till the sickle of time shall crop 
the creation.' " 

Major Brooks — afterwards Governor Brooks — 
was not on the hill in the afternoon. His duties 
on this day have been stated. Captain Walker^ 
whose daring reconnoitre service has been de- 
scribed, was carried to Boston, severely wounded. 
His leg was amputated, but he did not receive 
proper attention, and died during the following 
August. Captain Coburn's clothes were riddled 
with balls. Captain Bancroft fought nobly in the 
redoubt, and was wounded. Captain Ford behaved 
with much spirit. 

Moses Little's regiment was not commissioned 
until June 26. A return, dated June 15, of nine 
companies, reports Captain Collins's company ia 
Gloucester, and Captain Parker's as ready to 
march from Ipswich. Depositions state that, on 
the evening of June 16, Captains Gerrish and Per- 
kins were at West Cambridge, and that Captain 
Lunt was detached to Lechmere's Point, as a guard.* 
Captain Perkins's, Wade's, and Warner's companies 
were led on by Colonel Little, before the action 



NOTICES OF THE OFFICERS, 83 

commenced ; Captain Lunt went on near its close. 
Swett states that Captain Warner, who narrowly 
escaped, led on but twenty-three men, and that 
seventeen of these were either killed or wounded. 
Perkins marched with all possible expedition, and 
was of eminent service. ''He fired away all his 
cartridges, and, having some loose powder in his 
pocket, he was obliged to strip and tear off some 
part of his shirt to make wadding of; and when 
he had fired away all his powder, he retreated, 
without hat or wig, and almost naked." Jenkins 
behaved with equal valor. On\j forty are returned 
as killed and wounded of this regiment. Colonel 
Little is mentioned as behaving with spirit. He 
marched his command through two regiments who 
were afraid to advance, and covered the retreat. 
'' Two men were killed, one on each side of him ; 
and he came to the camp all bespattered with 
blood." Depositions state that Isaac Smith was lieu- 
tenant-colonel ; Collins, major; and Stephen 

Jenkins, adjutant. The accounts of this regiment 
are very confused. 

Ephraim Doolittle's regiment was commissioned 
June 12, when a return names only seven com- 
panies. The colonel and lieutenant-colonel were 
abseuu on the daj^ of the battle, and Major Willard 
Moore led on, it is stated, three hundred of its men. 
Few details are preserved of the service of this regi- 
ment, or of the conduct of its officers. The deposi- 



1 



84 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

tions speak in glowing terms of the good qualities 
of Major Moore. He was a firm patriot, and a gen- 
erous and chivalrous soldier. On the second attack 
he received a ball in the thigh, and while his me 
were carrying him to the rear another ball wen 
through his body. He called for water, but none 
could be obtained nearer than the Neck. He lin- 
gered until the time of the retreat, when, feeling 
his w^ounds to be mortal, he requested his attend- 
ants to lay him down,, leave him, and take care of 
themselves. He met with a soldier's death. He 
was from Paxton. He took a prominent part in 
the Worcester Convention in September, 1774 ; 
was chosen captain of the minute-men January 17, 
1775 ; and on the Lexington alarm immediately 
marched for Cambridge. Few notices appear of 
individuals of this regiment. Robert Steele, a 
drummer, stated in 1825 that he " beat to ' Yankee 
Doodle ' when he mustered for Bunker Hill on the 
morning of the 17th of June, 1775." 

Samuel Gerrish's regiment, about which so much 
has been written, was neither full nor commissioned. 
On the 19th of May it was reported to be complete ; 
but there were difficulties in relation to six of tlie 
companies, which were investigated June 2. Four 
companies were in commission June 17, and four 
more were commissioned June 22. Depositions 
station, June 16, three companies at Chelsea, three 
at Cambridge, and two at SewalFs Point. At a 



NOTICES OF THE OFFICERS, 85 

meeting of eight captains of this regiment, June 
16, at Chelsea, Loammi Baldwin was chosen lieu- 
tenant-colonel, Richard Dodge, major. Christian 
Febiger was adjutant, Michael Farley was quarter- 
master, and David Jones, surgeon. The conduct 
of the colonel of this regiment became the occasion 
of severe comment. A disparaging allusion to him 
occurs in Dr. Church's traitorous letter, in 1775 ; 
Wilkinson stations him on Bunker Hill, and with 
him all the re-enforcements that came on after 
Stark passed to the rail-fence ; the revolutionary 
depositions are equally severe. A letter says : 
" Major Gerrish no sooner came in sight of the 
enemy than a tremor seized him, and he began to 
bellow, ^ Retreat ! retreat ! or you'll all be cut off.' " 
In some of the statements, the whole regiment is 
also included. This, however, does gross injustice 
to a part of it, if not to the whole of it. Part of it 
went on, under its gallant adjutant, Febiger, and 
did good service. Of Colonel Gerrish's conduct 
Swett says : '' A complaint was lodged against him, 
with Ward, immediately after the battle, who re- 
fused to notice it, on account of the unorganized 
state of the army. He was stationed at Sewall's 
Point, which was fortified ; in a few weeks, a float- 
ing-battery made an attack on the place, which he 
did not attempt to repel, observing, ' The rascals 
can do us no harm, and it w^ould be a mere waste 
of powder to fire at them with our four-pounders.' 



86 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

Tt was evening, the lights were extmguished, and 
all the British balls flew wide of the fort. For his 
conduct on this occasion, and at Bunker Hill, he 
was arrested immediately, tried, found guilty of 
* conduct nnworthj" an officer,' and cashiered." 
This was August 19, 1775. It was thought by 
the judge-advocate of the court that he was treated 
far too severely. 

Adjutant Christian Febiger behaved with great 
gallantry in leading on a portion of this regiment 
in time to do efficient service. He was a Danish 
lieutenant, and enlisted April 28. He afterwards 
went with Arnold to Quebec, where he behaved 
with the resolution and intrepidity of a veteran, 
and gave many proofs of great military abilities. 
He was taken prisoner in the attack. He subse- 
quently rose to the rank of colonel, and distin- 
guished himself at the memorable storming of 
Stony Point, in 1779, where he led a column by 
the side of General Wajme. 

Thomas Gardner's regiment, of Middlesex, was 
commissioned on the 2d of June. William Bond 
was lieutenant-colonel, and Michael Jackson was 
major. After the British landed, this regiment 
was stationed in the road leading to Lechmere's 
Point, and late in the day was ordered to Charles- 
town. On arriving at Bunker Hill, General Put- 
nam ordered part of it to assist in throwing up 
defences commenced at this place. One company 



I 



NOTICES OF THE OFFICERS. 87 

went to the rail-fence. The greater part, under 
the lead of their colonel, on the third attack ad- 
vanced towards the redoubt. On the way, Colonel 
Gardner was struck by a ball, which inflicted a 
mortal wound. While a party was carrying him 
off, he had an affecting interview with his son, a 
vouth of nineteen, who was anxious to aid in bear- 
ing him from the field. His heroic father prohibited 
him, and he was borne on a litter of rails over Win- 
ter Hill. Here he was overtaken by the retreating 
troops. He raised himself on his rude couch, and 
addressed to them cheering words. He lingered 
until Jul}^ 3, when he died. On the 5th he was 
buried with the honors of war. He was in his 
fifty-second year, and had been a member of the 
General Court and of the Provincial Congress. 
He was a true patriot, a brave soldier, and an up- 
right man. An obituary notice of him in the '' Es- 
sex Gazette," July 13, 1775, says : " From the era 
of our public difficulties he distinguished himself 
as an ardent friend to the expiring liberties of 
America ; and by the unanimous suffrages of his 
townsnien was for some years elected a member of 
the General Assembly ; but when the daring en- 
croachments of intruding despotism deprived us 
of a constitutional convention, and the first law of 
nature demanded a substitute, he was chosen one 
of the Provincial Congress, — in which departments 
he was vigilant and indefatigable in. defeating everj? 



88 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

effort of tyranny. To promote the interest of his 
country was the delight of his souL An inflexible 
zeal for freedom caused him to behold every engine 
of oppression with contempt, horror, and aversion.' 
He devoted to military affairs not only a large share 
of his time, but of his fortune. His private char 
acter is highly eulogized. He was, " to his family, 
kind, tender, and indulgent ; to his friends, unre 
served and sincere ; to the whole circle of his ac 
quaintance, affable, condescending, and obliging ; 
while veneration for religion augmented the splen- 
dor of his sister virtues." 

Major Jackson had a personal encounter with a 
British officer, wliom he killed, while he received 
a ball through his side. His life was preserved by 
his sword-belt. He was recognized by his antago- 
nist, with whom he had served in former wars. 

One of the companies of this regiment — Cap- 
tain Josiah Harris's — was raised in Charlestown. 
Colonel Swett pays this company — the last to 
retreat — the following compliment : '' They were 
fighting at their own doors, on their own natal 
soil. They were on the extreme left, covai'ed by 
some loose stones thrown up on the shore of the 
Mystic, during the day, by order of Colonel Stark. 
At this most important pass into the country, 
against which the enemy made the most desperate 
efforts, like Leonidas's band, they had taken post, 
and like them they defended it till the enemy had 
discovered another." 



NOTICES OF THE OFFICERS, 89 



I 



General Ward's regiment, of Worcester, was 
commissioned May 23. Jonathan Ward was lieu- 
tenant-colonel ; Edward Barnes, major ; Timothy 
Bigelow,^ second major ; James Hart, adjutant ; 
William Boyd, quartermaster. This regiment was 
not ordered to Charlestown until late in the after- 
noon, and halted on its way ; but a detachment 
from it pushed on, and arrived in season to take 
part in the action. Lieutenant-colonel Ward, with 
a few men, reached the rail-fence ; and Captains 
Gushing and Washburn, and another company, 
fired upon the British after the retreat commenced 
from the redoubt. The remainder of the regiment, 
under Major Barnes, retreated before it got near 
enough to engage the enemy. 

Jonathan Brewer's regiment, of Worcester and 
Middlesex, consisted, June 15, of three hundred 
and ninety-seven men. William Buckminster was 
heutenant-colonel, and Nathaniel Cudworth major, 
— all of whom did excellent duty in the battle. 
On the same day, the Committee of Safety rec- 
ommended the officers of this regiment to be 
commissioned, with the exception of Captain 
Stebbins, who did not have the requisite num- 
ber of men. Swett states that this regiment 
went on about three hundred strong ; revolu- 
tionary depositions state one hundred and fifty. 
It was stationed mostly on the diagonal line 
between the breastwork and rail-fence. Few de- 



90 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

tails are given respecting Colonel Brewer, other 
than that he was consulted often by Prescott, 
behaved with spirit, and was wounded ; or of 
Major Cud worth, — the same who led the .Sudbury 
minute-men to attack the British troops on the 
19th of April. Lieutenant-colonel Buckminster 
acquired much reputation for bravery and pru- 
dence in the battle. Just before the retreat, he 
received a dangerous wound from a musket-ball 
entering his right shoulder, and coming out in the 
middle of his back. This made him a cripple dur- 
ing life. He was much respected for his sterling 
integrity, patriotism, and goodness of heart. He 
was born in Framingham in 1786, removed in 1757 
to Barre, was elected in 1774 to command the 
minute-men, and after his arrival in camp Avas 
chosen lieutenant-colonel. He died in 1786. 

John Nixon's regiment, from Middlesex and 
Worcester, was neither full nor commissioned. 
Only three companies appear in a list dated June 
16, and their ofScers are all that appear to have 
been in commission. Swett states that three hun- 
dred were led on to the field by Colonel Nixon, 
who behaved with great gallantry. He was badly 
wounded, and carried off the hill. A colored man, 
Peter Salem, it was reported, fired the shot that 
killed Major Pitcairn. 

Benjamin R. Woodbridge's regiment, of Hamp- 
shire, also, was not commissioned, and there are 



NOTICES OF THE OFETCERS, 91 

few details of it, or of its officers, in the accounts 
of the battle. A return, dated June 16, names 

leight captains, four lieutenants, four ensigns, and 

i three hundred and sixty- three men. Abijah Brown 
was lieutenant-colonel, and William Stacy, major. 
Swett names this regiment, also, as going on three 
hundred strong. But in this case, and in the case 
of Nixon's, it is probably too high an estimate. 
Asa Whitcomb's regiment, of Worcester, had 

'but few companies in the battle. One account, by 
a soldier, states that Captain Benjamin Hastings, 
belonging to it, led on a company of thirty-four, 

' and took post at the rail-fence. This name does 
not occur in a return dated June 3. Two com- 
panies. Captains Burt's and Wilder's, were prob- 
ably in the battle. 

j James Scammans's regiment, from Maine, did 

j not advance nearer the battle than Bunker Hill ; 
and its colonel was tried for disobedience of orders, 
but acquitted. This trial was printed at length in 

I the '' New England Journal " of February, 1776. 
In a petition, dated November 14, 1776, he re- 
quested a commission to raise a regiment, '' being 
willing to show his country that he was ready at 
all times to risk his fortune and life in defence of 
it." It commenced as follows : " V/hereas, his 
conduct has been called in question respecting the 
battle of Charlestown, in June, 1775, wherein the 
dispositions made were such as could render but 
lit^e prospect of success." 



92 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

John Mansfield's regiment was ordered to 
Charlestown, but marched to Cobble Hill, to pro- 
tect the detachment of artillery, UDder Major Scar- 
borough Gridley. Colonel Mansfield was tried fo: 
" remissness and backwardness in the execution o 
his duty,'' sentenced ''to be cashiered, and ren- 
dered unfit to serve in the Continental Army 
Swett remarks that he " was obviously guilty o: 
an error only, arising from inexperience." 

Richard Gridley's battalion of artillery, notwith 
standing the great exertions that had been made 
to complete it, was not settled at the time of the 
battle. It consisted of ten companies, — four hun 
dred and seventeen men. In a return dated June 
16, Scarborough Gridley, son of the colonel, i 
titled lieutenant-colonel, and William Burbeck 
major ; but the Committee of Safet}'' of this date 
recommended Congress to commission the cap 
tains and subalterns of the train, and William Bur 
beck as lieutenant-colonel, Scarborough Gridley as 
first major, and David Mason as second major 
But these officers were not commissioned until 
June 21, when Gridley was made second major. 
Three companies were in battle : Captain Grid- 
ley's, Trevett's, and Callender's. One other 
Captain Foster's — advanced as far as Bunker Hill, 
when it was obliged to retreat. Details of the 
conduct of these companies have been given. All 
accounts agree that the artillery, in general, was 
badly served. ^ 



NOTICES OF THE OFFICERS. 93 

Colonel Richard Gridley, the chief-eDgineer of 
the army, who planned the works on Breed's Hill, 
was a veteran of the French wars, and distinguished 
himself at the siege of Louishurg. He was taken 
ill on the morniDg of the 17th, after the fatigue of 
the night, and left the hill ; but returned before 
the action commenced, and fought until the retreat, 
aiding in discharging one of the field-pieces. He 
was struck, near the close of the battle, by a ball, 
and entered his sulky to be carried off; but, meet- 
ing with some obstruction, had but just left it, 
when the horse was killed, and the sulky was rid- 
dled by the enemy's shot. The veteran engineer 
was active in planning the fortifications that were 
thrown up immediately after the battle. He re- 
ceived from the Provincial Congress the rank of 
major-general ; and commissioned, September 20, 
1775, to take the command of the artillery in the 
Continental Army. In November, he was super- 
seded by Colonel Knox. Washington, December 
31, stated to Congress that no one in the army was 
better qualified to l^e chief-engineer ; and his ser- 
vices were again called for, on the memorable 
night when Dorchester Heights were fortified. 
After the British had left Boston, he was intrusted 
with the duty of again throwing up works in 
Charlestown, and other points about the harbor. 
He died at Stoughton, June 21, 1796, aged eighty- 
four. 



94 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

Major Scarborough Gridley, who was ordered, 
with additional artillery companies to Charlestown, 
but took post at Cobble Hill to fire at the "Glas- 
gow" frigate, was tried by a court-martial, of 
which General Greene was president. The follow- 
ing was the sentence, September 24, 1775 : " Major 
Scarborough Gridley, tried at a late court-martial, 
whereof Brigadier-General Greene was president, 
for 'being deficient in his duty upon the 17th of 
June last, the day of the action upon Bunker's 
Hill,' the court find Major Scarborough Gridley 
guilty of a breach of orders. They do, therefore, 
dismiss him from the Massachusetts service ; but, 
on account of his inexperience and youth, and 
the great confusion that attended that day's trans- 
actions in general, they do not consider him in- 
capable of a continental commission, should the 
general officers recommend him to his Excellency." 
He was a son of Colonel Gridley ; and parental 
partiality procured his appointment in preference 
to that of Benjamin Thompson, afterwards the 
celebrated Count Rumford. The latter accom- 
panied Major Brooks the last time he was ordered 
on, and met the Americans in their retreat. 

Captain Callender, for disobedience of orders 
and alleged cowardice, was tried June 27, — the 
first of the trials on account of this battle. The 
court sentenced him to be cashiered ; and Wash- 
ington, in an order, July 7, declared him to be 



NOTICES OF THE OFFICERS, 95 

'• dismissed from all further service ia the continen- 
tal service as an officer." But Callender despised 
the charge of cowardice ; and, determined to wipe 
out the unjust stigma, continued in the army as a 
volunteer. At the battle of Lon2C Island he fouo^ht 
with such signal bravery that Washington ordered 
the sentence to be erased from the Orderly Book, 
and his commission to be restored to him. He was 
taken prisoner by the enemy, August 27, 1776. 
He remained over a year in the hands of the 
British. A touching petition, dated September 
16, 1777, was addressed to the government of 
Massachusetts by his wife, in his behalf. " Your 
petitioner," it says, '' with four helpless infants, is 
now, through the distress of a kind and loving 
husband, a tender and affectionate parent, reduced 
to a state of misery and wretchedness and want 
truly pitiable." Her devotion had found a way 
of relief, by an exchange, and it was successful. 
Swett states that this brave soldier left the service 
at the peace with the highest honor and reputa- 
tion. 

Captain S. R. Trevett's gallantry and persever- 
ance rescued the only field-piece saved of the six 
taken to the field. He lived to an advanced age. 

The New Hampshire troops consisted of the 
regiments of Colonels Stark and Reed, and one 
company, Reuben Dow's, in Prescott's regiment. 
They fought with great bravery. 



96 BATTLE OF BUNKER BILL. 

Colonel John Stark's regiment was large and 
full. There is no return, however, specifying the 
number of men, in the office of the Secretary of 
State of New Hampshire. In the roll, Isaac Wyman 
is named lieutenant-colonel ; Andrew McClary 
major (though the records of the Congress state 
that he was appointed major of the 3d, or Poor's 
regiment) ; Abiel Chandler, adjutant ; John Cald- 
well, quartermaster ; David Osgood, chaplain ; 
Obadiah Williams, surgeon : Samuel McClintock, 
chaplain. 

Colonel Stark, afterwards the hero of Benning- 
ton, behaved with his characteristic bravery. Aftei 
he had detached, earl}'- in the morning, a third of 
his men, it is said he visited the redoubt in com- 
pany with his major, ;wlien he found his men in 
the Hollow between Winter and Ploughed Hills 
On leading the troops into action, he made £ 
spirited address, and ordered three cheers to be 
given. By his order, also, the stones on the beach 
of Mystic River were thrown up in the form of a 
breastwork. These are nearly all the particulars 
relating to his conduct that have been stated 
But all accounts speak of his coolness and intre- 
pidity. 

When the order was received for the remainder 
of this regiment to march to Bunker Hill, it was 
paraded in front of a house used as an arsenal, 
where each man received a gill cup full of powder, 



NOTICES OF THE OFFICERS. 97 

j fifteen balls, and one flint. After tliis the car- 
\ tridges were to be made np, and this occasioned 
j much delay. Hence the regiment did not get to 
jthe hill until about two o'clock. 

The major of this regiment, Andrew McClary, 

was a favorite officer. He was nearly six feet and 

a half in heicrht, and of an athletic frame. During^ 

(the action he fought with great bravery; and, 

amidst the roar of the artillery, his stentorian voice 

I was heard animating the men and inspiring them 

'with his own energy. After the action was over, 

jhe rode to Medford to procure bandages for the 

'wounded; and, on his return, went with a few of 

his comrades to reconnoitre the British, then on 

^Bunker Hill. As he was on his way to join his 

men, a shot from a frigate lying where Craigie's 

Bridge is passed through his bod}'. He leaped a 

few feet from the ground, pitched forward, and fell 

jdead on his face. He was carried to Medford, and 

I interred with the honors of war. He was. General 

I 

[Dearborn writes, a brave, great, and good man. A 
j spirited notice of him appeared in the New Hamp- 
I shire ''Gazette," dated Epsom, July, 1775. It 
isays : " The Major discovered great intrepidity and 
presence of mind in the action, and his noble soul 
glowed with ardor and the love of his country; 
i^nd, like the Roman Camillus, who left his plough, 
i commanded the army, and conquered his oppo- 
'nents, so the Major, upon the first intelligence of 

7 



^S BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

hostilities at Concord, left his farm and went a 
volunteer to assist his suffering brethren, where he 
was soon called to a command, which he executed 
to his eternal honor, and has thereby acquired the 
reputation of a brave officer and a disinterested 
patriot ; and may his name be held in respect by 
all the lovers of liberty to the end of time, while 
the names of the sons of tyranny are despised and 
disgraced, and nothing left to them but the badges 
of their perfidy and infamy ! May the widow ol 
the deceased be respected for his sake ; and may 
his children inherit his spirit and bravery, but not 
meet Avith his fate ! " 

Captain Henry Dearborn, who afterwards be- 
came so distinguished in the history of the country 
both in civil and military capacities, commanded 
one of the companies of this regiment, and has sup- 
plied an account of the action full of interesting 
details. 

The chaplain of the regiment, Dr. McCHntock, 
was in the battle, animating the men by his exhor- 
tations, prayers, and intrepidity. 

James Reed's regiment, consisting, June 14, of 
four hundred and eighty-six rank and file, was 
stationed at Charlestown Neck. Israel Gilman was 
lieutenant-colonel; Nathan Hale, major; Stephen 
Peabody, adjutant; Isaac Frye, quartermaster; 
Ezra Green, surgeon. Few details have been pre- 
served of the service of this reriment. Colonel 



NOTICES OF THE OFFICERS. 99 

Reed was, Colonel Swett remarks, " a highly re- 
spectable oflBcer, and served at Ticonderoga in 
1776. His letters to the New Hampshire Congress 
bear evidence of a patriotic spirit, Avhile his orders 
to his regiment evince a good disciplinarian. No 
special mention appears of him in the accounts of 
the battle. General Folsom, however, in writin<^ 
of the gallantry of the New Hampshire troops, 
makes no discrimination. Adjutant Peabody be- 
haved. General Sullivan writes, with great courage 
and intrepidity. William Lee, first orderly ser- 
geant of Spaulding's company, '' not only fought 
well himself," say the officers and men of this 
company, in a petition to Washington, August 10, 
1775, '' but gave good advice to the men to place 
themselves in right order, and to stand their ground 
well." 

The Connecticut forces at Cambridge were under 
the command of General Putnam. His regiment 
was full, containing ten companies. Experience 
Storrs was his lieutenant-colonel, John Durkee his 
first major, and Obadiah Johnson his second major. 
A letter dated June 20, 1775, states that the whole 
of this regiment, excepting Captain Mosely's com- 
pany, was in the action. Two companies that ap- 
pear in the returns as belonging to General Spencer's 
regiment were certainly in the battle, — Chester's 
and Coit's. Chester states that,. '^ by orders from 
head-quarters, one subaltern, one sergeant, and 



100 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

thirty privates were drafted out overnight to in- 
trench, from his company." Captain Clark, in a 
letter, June 17, 1818, says he received orders from 
General Putnam '' to detach one ensign, with 
twenty-eight men," to march early in the evening 
of the 16th of June. Drafts were made from Put- 
nam's and Knowlton's company, and probably from 
one other. No order for more of the Connecticut 
forces to go on appears to have been given, until 
General Putnam gave it, after the British landed, 
about noon, on the 17th. 

The conduct of the Connecticut troops is men- 
tioned in terms of high commendation in the private 
letters and the journals of the time. Major Dur- 
kee. Captains Knowlton, Chester, Coit, Lieuten- 
ants Dana, Hide, Grosvenor, Webb, Bingham, and 
Keyes, are specially named as deserving of credit. 
One letter states that the officers and soldiers 
under the command of Major Durkee, Captains 
Knowlton, Coit, Clark, and Chester, and all the 
Connecticut troops ordered up, and some from this 
province, did honor to themselves and the cause of 
their country. An article printed directly after 
the battle in the Connecticut ^' Courant " says: 
''Captain Chester and Lieutenant Webb, who 
marched up to the lines and re-enforced the troops, 
by their undaunted behavior, timely and vigorous 
assistance, it is universally agreed, are justly en- 
tled to the grateful acknowledgments of their 



NOTICES OF THE OFFICERS. 101 

countrj." They went on near the close of the 
battle. In a letter dated July 11, 1775, and ad- 
dressed to Silas Dean, Lieutenant Webb gives a 
vivid idea both of the hotness of the fire and of 
the desperate nature of the hand-to-hand contests 
of the day. '' For my part, I confess," he writes, 
*' when I was descending into the valley, from off 
Bunker Hill, side by side of Captain Chester, at 
the head of our company, I had no more thought 
of ever rising the hill again, than I had of ascend- 
ing to heaven, as Elijah did, soul and body together. 
But after we got engaged, to see the dead and 
wounded around me, I had no other feeling but 
that of revenge. Four men were shot dead within 
five feet of me, but, thank Heaven, I escaped, with 
only the graze of a musket-ball on my hat. I think 
it my duty to tell you of the bravery of one of our 
company. Edward Brown stood side by side with 
Gershom Smith in the intrenchments. Brown 
saw his danger, — discharged his own and Smith's 
gun when they came so close as to push over our 
small breastwork.. Brown sprang, seized a regu- 
lar's gun, took it from him, and killed him^on the 
spot ; brought off the gun in triumph, and has it 
now by him. In this engagement we lost four 
brave men, and four wounded." 

The conduct of Captain Thomas Knowlton elic- 
ited high praise. He commenced the construction 
of the rail-fence protection, and fought here with 



102 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

admirable bravery and conduct, until the retreat. 
He received from a Bostonian a gold-laced hat, a 
sash, and gold breastplate, for his behavior in this 
battle. Soon after, he was promoted ; and while 
major, he made, January 8, 1776, a daring and 
successful excursion into Charlestown, to burn 
several houses used by the British ; and as lieu- 
tenant-colonel, was the confidant of Washington 
in the enterprise of the memorable Nathan Hale. 
On the 16th of September, 1776, while exhibiting 
his usual intrepidity, he was killed at the battle of 
Harlem Heights. Washington, in the general or- 
ders, after alluding to his gallantry and bravery, 
and his fall while '^ gloriously fighting," said he 
'' would have been an honor to any country." He 
was about thirty-six when he was killed. On his 
fall a brother officer gave the following impromptu 
lines, printed at the time : — 

** Here Knowlton lies, — the great, the good, the brave : 
Slam in the field, now triumphs in the grave. 
The vaUant often die in martial strife ; 
The coward Uves : his punishment is life." 

General Ward expressed his thanks tothe troops 
engaged in this battle, in the following order, of 
June 21 : " The General orders his thanks to be 
given to those officers and soldiers who behaved 
so gallantly at the late action in Charlestown. 
Such bravery gives the General sensible pleasure, 



NUMBERS ENGAGED. 103 

as lie is thereby fully satisfied that we shall finally 
come off victorious, and triumph over the enemies 
of freedom and America." 

So conflicting are the authorities, that the num- 
ber of troops engaged, on either side, cannot be 
precisely ascertained. '' The number of the Amer- 
icans during the battle," Colonel Swett says, " was 
fluctuating, but may be fairly estimated at three 
thousand five hundred, who joined in the battle, 
and five hundred more, who covered the retreat." 
General Putnam's estimate was two thousand two 
hundred. General Washington says the number 
engaged, at any one time, was one thousand five 
hundred ; and this was adopted by Dr. Gordon. 
This is as near accuracy as can be arrived at. 
General Gage, in his official account, states the 
British force at '' something over two thousand;" 
and vet the same account acknowledo'es one thou- 
sand and fifty-four killed and wounded. This 
certainly indicates a force far larger than two 
thousand. Neither British accounts nor the Brit- 
ish plans of the battle mention all the regiments 
that were in the field. Thus the movements of 
the second battalion of marines are not given ; yet 
the official table of loss states that it had seven 
killed and thirty wounded ; and Clarke, also, states 
it was not until after the Americans had retreated 
that General Gage sent over this second battalion, 
with four reghnents of foot, and a company of ar- 



104 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

tillery. Americans, who counted the troops as 
they left the wharves in Boston, state that five 
thousand went over to Cliarlestown ; but, probably, 
not even four thousand were actually engaged. 

Statements were made as to the numbers en- 
gaged, in a debate in the House of Commons, 
December 7, 1775. The Lord Mayor — Mr. Saw- 
bridge — said it had been very fashionable, both 
within and without doors, to stigmatize the Amer- 
icans as cowards and poltroons, but he believed 
the truth would be found on the other side ; for 
he was well informed that the king's troops, in the 
action of Bunker's Hill, consisted of twenty -five 
hundred men, and the provincials not quite fifteen 
hundred ; and even those fifteen hundred would 
have completely defeated the king's troops, if their 
ammunition had not been totally spent. Lord 
North said, he. was but an indifferent judge of 
military operations ; but, by the best accounts he 
could obtain, the provincials were, at least, three 
to one, and were, besides, very strongly intrenched. 
He estimated the number of Americans at eight 
thousand, at least. Colonel Morris estimated the 
Americans at five thousand, and the British at 
twenty-five hundred. 

The time the battle lasted is variously stated; 
some accounts state four hours, but they include 
the heavy fire of artillery that covered the landing. 
The Committee of Safety (MS.) account says : 



NUMBERS ENGAGED, 105 

"The time the engagement lasted, from the first 
fire of the musketry till the last^ was exactlj^ one 
hour and a half." The losses of individuals in the 
battle were allowed by the colonies, and there are 
hundreds of petitions from the soldiers in it. They 
often state the number of times the petitioner dis- 
charged his musket. Thus, one says : " He dis- 
charged his piece more than thirty times, within 
fair gun-shot, and he is confident he did not dis- 
charge it in vain." Another says: ''He had an 
opportunity of firing seventeen times at our un- 
natural enemies, which he cheerfully improved, 
being a marksman." Several letters unite in stat- 
ing the time of the action at one hour and a half. 
The general battle, with small arms, began about 
half-past three, and ended about five. 

No mention is made of colors being used on 
either side. At one of the patriotic celebrations of 
1825, a flag was borne which was said to have 
been unfurled at Bunker Hill ; and tradition states 
that one was hoisted at the redoubt, and that Gage 
and his oflQcers were puzzled to read by their glasses 
its motto. A whig told them it was — " Come if 
you dare ! " In the eulogy on Warren is the fol- 
lowing, in a description of the astonishment of the 
British on seeing the redoubt : — 

'* Soon as Aurora gave the golden da7, 
And drove the sable shades of night away, 
Columbia's troops are seen in dread array, 
And waving streamers in the air display." 



106 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 



In a MS. plan of the battle, colors are represented 
in the centre of each British regiment. 

The following is the record in General Ward's 
Orderly Book — the only reference to the battle it 
contains — of the loss of the Americans: ''June 
17. The battle of Charlestown was fought this 
day. Killed, one hundred and fifteen ; wounded, 
three hundred and five ; captured, thirty. Total, 
four hundred and fifty." They also lost five pieces 
of cannon out of six, and a large quantity of in- 
trenching tools. The following table shows the 
loss sustained by each regiment, and presents a 
somewhat different result: — 





Killed. Wounded. 


Killed. 


Wounded 


Prescott's . . 


42 . 


. 28 


Ward's . . . 1 . 


. 6 


Bridge's . . 


15 . 


. 29 


Scammans's . . 


. 2 


Frye's . . . 


15 . 


31 


Gerrish's . . 3 . 


. 2 


Brewer's . . 


7 . 


11 


Whitcomb's . 5 . 


. 8 


Little's . . . 


7 . 


23 


Stark's ... 15 . 


. 45 


Gardner's . . 


6 . 


7 . 


Reed's . . . 6 . 


. 21 


Kixon's . . 


3 . 


10 


Putnam & Coitus 




Woodbridge's 


. 1 . 


5 


Co. ... 11 . 


. 26 


Doolittle's . . 


. 


9 


Chester's Co. 4 . 


. 4 


Gridley's . . 


. 


. 4 







Killed, 140 ; wounded, 271 ; captured, 30. 



The following list of prisoners taken by the 
British, June 17, appeared in the journals of Sep- 
tember, 1775 : — 



NUMBERS ENGAGED, 107 

Lieutenant-Colonel Parker . . Chelmsford .... Dead. 

Captain Benjamin Walker . . Clielmsford .... ,, 

Lieutenant A maziah Fausett . Groton ,. 

Lieutenant William Scott . . Peterborough . . . Alive. 

Sergeant Robert Phelps . . Lancaster .... Dead. 

Phineas Nevers Windsor „ 

Oliver Stevens Townsend .... „ 

Daniel McGrath Unknown .... „ 

John Perkins New Rutland . . . Alive. 

Jacob Frost Tewksbury .... „ 

Amasa Fisk Pepperell . . . . . Dead. 

Daniel Sessions Andover Alive. 

Jonathan Norton Newburjport ... „ 

Phihp Johnson Beck .... Boston — Mansfield . ,, 

Benjamin Bigelow Peckerfield .... „ 

Benjamin Wilson Billerica „ 

Archibald Mcintosh . . .' . Townsend .... Dead. 

David Kemp Groton „ 

John Deland Charlestown . . . Alive. 

Lawrence Sullivan .... Wethersfield ... „ 
Timothy Kettell (a lad) . . . Dismissed Charlestown. 

William Robinson .... Unknown .... Dead. 

Benjamin Ross Ashford, Conn. . . „ 

John Dillon Jersey, Old England „ 

One unknown „ 

William Kench Peckerfield .... „ 

James Dodge Edinburgh, Scotland „ 

William Robinson Connecticut ... „ 

John Lord Unknown .... „ 

James Milliken Boston „ 

Stephen Foster Groton „ 

Total, — 20 dead, 10 alive, 1 dismissed. 

Some of the dead were buried on the field of bat- 
tle. One deposit appears to have been a trench 
near the line of the almshouse estate, running par- 



108 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

allel with Elm Street. Here a large number of 
American buttons have been found attached to 
bones. Americans were buried in other places in 
Charlestown, which are known from similar cir- 
cumstances. The wounded were carried to the 
western side of Bunker Hill, and then to Cam- 
bridge. Doctors Thomas Kittredge, William Eustis, 
— afterwards governor, — Walter Hastings, Thomas 
Welsh, Isaac Foster, Lieutenant-Colonel Bricket, 
David Townsend, and eTohn Hart, were in attend- 
ance. The house of Governor Oliver, in Cambridge, 
known as the Gerry estate, was occupied as a hos- 
pital. Many of the soldiers who died of their 
wounds were buried in a field in front of this house. 
Rev. Samuel Cook's house, at West Cambridge, 
was also used for a hospital. The prisoners were 
carried to Boston jail. 

The loss of the British was admitted, in the 
official account, to have been two hundred and 
twentj^-six killed, eight hundred and twenty-eight 
wounded ; total, one thousand and fifty-four. But 
the Americans set it as high as fifteen hundred. 
The wounded, during the whole night and the 
next day, were convej^ed to Boston, where the 
streets were filled with groans and lamentation. 

A lady in Boston wrote to her brother, Sunday, 

June 18 : — 

'' Once more at my pen. I can scarcely compose 
myself enough for any thing, nor will you wonder, 



NUMBERS ENGAGED, 109 

when j'ou know the situation we are in at present. 
Yesterday another battle fought. Charlestown the 
scene of action. They began early in the morning, 
and continued all day fighting. In the afternoon 
they set fire to the town, and it is now wholly laid 
in ashes. We could view this melancholy sight 
from the top of our house. One poor man went 
on the top of the meeting-house to see the battle. 
Was not able to get down again, but perished in 
the flames. About five in the afternoon they be- 
gan to send home thejr wounded. Here, my dear 
brother, was a scene of woe indeed. To see such 
numbers as passed by must have moved the hard- 
est heart. Judge, then, the feelmgs of your sister. 
Some without noses, some with but one eye, broken 
legs, and arms, some limping along, scarcely able 
to reach the hospital; while others were brought 
in wagons, chaise, coaches, sedans, and beds, on 
men's shoulders. The poor women wringing their 
hands, and crjdng most pitifuUj^ — all excepting 
one, who, on seeing her husband in a cart badly 
wounded, vowed revenge, went off, but soon re- 
turned completely equipped, with her gun on her 
shoulder, her knapsack at her back, marched down 
the street, and left the poor husband, to try how 
many she could send along to tell he was coming. 
There is a vast number of our men killed and 
wounded; a great many officers, too, are sent to 
their long homes. Amongst the rest, one fine-look- 



110 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

ing man, much about your age, who stopped against 
our wmcIoAYS to have his leg, which was shpping, 
moved a little. He lived till this morning. The 
poor fellow came ashore but yesterday or the- day 
before ; perliaps his mother's darling and his father's 
joy, — cut off in the midst of his days ; his sisters, 
too, if he had any, must weep his untimely fate. 
Hope it will never be my lot to have any of my 

near connections follow the armv." 

»/ 

A letter, June 80, 1775, saj'S ; '' I have seen many 
from Boston who were eye-witnesses to the most 
melancholy scene ever beheld in this part of the 
world. The Saturday night and Sabbath were 
taken up in carrying over the dead and wounded ; 
and all the wood-carts in town, it is said, were 
employed, — chaises and coaches for the officers. 
They have taken the workhouse, almshouse, and 
manufactory-house, for the wounded." The phy- 
sicians, surgeons, and apothecaries of Boston ren- 
dered every assistance in their power. The 
processions were melancholy sights. " In the first 
carriage," writes Clarke, " was Major Williams, 
bleeding and dying, and three dead captains of the 
52d Regiment. In the second, four dead officers ; 
then another, with wounded officers." The pri- 
vates who died on the field were immediately 
buried there, — "in holes," Gage's report states. 
Collections of bones have been occasionally found 
on the east side of Breed's Hill, in digging wells or 



NUMBERS ENGAGED. Ill 

cellars, having attached to them buttons, with the 
numbers of the different regiments. '' On Monday 
morning," a British account says, " all the dead 
officers were decently buried in Boston, in a pri- 
vate manner, in the different churches and church- 
yards there." 

A large proportion of the killed were officers, 
and among them some highly distinguished. Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Abercrombie, at the head of the 
grenadiers, Avas shot while storming the works. 
He was a brave and noble-hearted soldier; and 
when the men were bearing him from the field, he 
begged them to spare his old friend Putnam. '' If 
you take General Putnam alive," he said, '' don't 
hang him ; for he's a brave man." He died on the 
24th of June. 

Major Pitcairn, the commander of the marines, 
was widely known in the country from his connec- 
tion with the events of the 19th of April, and 
many of the Americans claim the honor of having 
killed him in this battle. Dr. John Eliot wrote in 
his almanac the following account of his fall: 
" This amiable and gallant officer was slain enter- 
ing the intrenchments. He had been wounded 
twice ; then putting himself at the head of his 
forces, he faced danger, caUing out, ' Now for the 
glory of the marines ! ' He received four balls in 
his body." He v/as much beloved by his com- 
mand. '' I have lost my father," his son exclaimed. 



112 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

as he fell. " We have all lost a father," was the 
echo of the regiment. His son bore him to a boat, 
and then to a house in Prince Street, Boston, where 
he was attended by a physician, at tlie special 
request of General Gage, but soon died. He was 
a courteous and accomplished officer, and an exem- 
plary man. His son was soon promoted. 

Major Spendlove, of the 4-jd Regiment, an- 
other distinguished officer, died of his wounds. 
He had served with unblemished reputation up- 
wards of forty j^ears in the same regiment, and 
been three times wounded, — once when Avith 
Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham, again at the 
reduction of Martinico, and at the capture of 
* Havana. His conduct at the battle was favorably 
mentioned by the commander. Other officers of 
merit fell. Captain Addison, related to the author 
of the " Spectator," and Captain Sherwin, Howe's 
aid-de-camp, were killed. The slaughter of offi 
cers occasioned great astonishment in England. 

Of the officers who acted as aids to General Howe, 
all were wounded, and only one of them. Lieuten- 
ant Page, of the engineers, lived to reach Eng- 
land. He distinguished himself at the storming of 
the redoubt, and received General Howe's thanks. 
He made an exact plan of the battle. It is the 
only correct one engraved in England, and is used 
in tliis work. Many of the wounded officers re- 
turned to England. For many months the British 



NUMBERS ENGAGED, 113 

journals contained notices of their arrival, and pres- 
entation at court. One of them, selected as a 
specimen, reads as follows: ^' March 28, 1776. — 
Yesterday Captain Cockering, who lost his arm at 
Bunker's Hill, was introduced to his Majesty at St. 
James's, by the Duke of Chandos, and graciously 
received ; at the same time his Majesty was pleased 
to present him with a captain's commission in a 
company of invalids." 

Captain Ewing, of the marines, ''gallantly lead- 
ing the grenadier company in the thin, red line 
which charged up the hill,'' received a wound, and, 
by order of the king, a medal. 

Captain Harris, whose words before the battle 
have been cited, was ascending the works for the 
third time when a ball grazed the top of his head, 
and he fell into the arms of Lord Rawdon. ''For 
God's sake," he said, "let me die in peace." He 
lived to become a lord. 

Captain Drew, of the light-infantry, of the 35th, 
behaved gallantly. Three shots took effect on him ; 
and he had two contusions. He languished eigh- 
teen weeks, but survived. Baird, the third offi- 
cer, was killed. His dying words were: "I wi^h 
success to the 35th: onlj^^ say I behaved as be- 
came a soldier." Drew says " the company was 
cut to pieces, to six privates, almost in my sight." 
The oldest soldier led the remaining five of this 
company in the pursuit. The grenadiers of this 

8 



114 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

regiment equalled their brethren in gallantry, and 
were as unfortunate. The fall of Baird elicited a 
tribute to his memory, closing, — 

'* Thus like the fearless Theban he expired ; 
A fate bewailed yet envied by the brave ; 
The muse, with tender sympathy inspired, 
Thus pours her sorrows o'er his silent grave. 

Nor you, ye warriors ! shall unpraised remain : 
Eeduced to five, in sullen rage they stand ; 

Each generous leader wounded sore or slain, 
The oldest soldier led the slender band." 

An incident of a different character is related of 
Lieutenant Lenthal of the 23d, or Welsh Fusileers. 
Seeing that his regiment was disorganized, he took 
refuge in a saw-pit. A common soldier, belonging 
to the same company, followed the example of his 
commanding officer, and both of them escaped alive. 
Some years afterwards, when the Captain was re- 
turned to Burford, his residence, a poor woman 
one day gave him a hearty benediction, which led 
him to ask the reason of her good wishes. '' God 
bless you, sir," said she, '' you saved my son's life 
in Ameriky ! " '' And how did I save your son's 
life?" replied the Captain. " O, sir, he would 
never have thought of getting down into the saw- 
pit, if you hadn't done so first ! " 

Lieutenant Hamilton Avas wounded. He became 
one of the sheriffs of Lancashire, and a great friend 
of Walter Scott. On his death-bed, in 1831, he 



BRITISH CRITICISM. 115 

sent for Scott, and asked him to choose and retain 
as a memorial any article he liked in his collection 
of arms. Scott selected the sword that Hamilton 
wore at Bunker Hill. 

The British journals contain many comments on 
this battle, and for years they continued to publish 
incidents in relation to it. For several months 
after it took place letters from oflScers engaged in 
it continued to appear in them. They were aston- 
ished at its terrible slaughter. It was compared 
with other great battles, especially with those of 
Quebec and of Miuden. Officers who had served 
in all Prince Ferdinand's campaigns remarked, that 
"so large a proportion of a detachment was never 
killed and wounded in German3^" It far exceeded, 
in this respect, and in the hotness of the fire, the 
battle of Minden. The manner in which whole 
regiments and companies were cut up was com- 
mented upon. The 5th, 52d, 59th, and the gren- 
adiers of the Welsh Fusileers are specially men- 
tioned. One company of grenadiers, of the 35th, 
persevered in advancing after their officers fell, and 
five of their number only left, and they led on by 
the oldest soldier. This was adduced as a mem- 
orable instance of English valor; and it was 
exultingly asked, '^What history can produce its 
parallel?" Attempts were made to account for 
the facts that so many of the British, and so few 
of the Americans, fell. One officer writes of the 



116 BATTLE OF BUNKER HJLL. 

former, that the American rifles " were peculiarly 
adapted to take off the officers of a whole line as it 
marches to an attack." Another writes, '^ That 
every rifleman was attended by two men, one on 
each side of him, to load pieces for him, so that he 
had nothing to do but fire as fast as a piece was 
put into his hand ; and this is the real cause of so 
maiiy of our brave officers falling." One reason 
given why the British troops killed so few of the 
provincials was, that the over-sized balls used by 
the artillery would not permit of a true shot. 
Meantime, transports with the wounded, and with 
the remains of the regiments which had been so 
cut up, as they arrived in England, continued to 
afford living evidence of the terrible realities of 
this conflict. 

The British officers described the redoubt as 
having been so strong that it must have been the 
work of several days. One says : " The fortifica- 
tion on Bunker Hill must have been the work 
of some days ; it was very regular, and exceeding 
strong." A plan of it appeared in the '' Gentleman's 
Magazine," which is here presented as a curious 
memorial of the battle. It is called '' Plan of the 
Redoubt and Intrenchment on the Heights of 
Charlestown (commonly called Bunker's Hill), 
opposite Boston, in New England, attacked and 
carried ))y his Majesty's troops, June 17, 1775." 

The '' Gentleman's Magazine " says: "This re- 



BRITISH CRITICISM. 



117 



doubt was well executed. In the only side on 
which it could be ^attacked were two pieces of 
cannon. In the two salient angles w^ere two 
trees, with their branches projecting off the para- 




Very deep hollow way. 



pet, to prevent an entry being made on the angles. 
The two flanks (A and B) of the intrenchment 
were well contrived, as the fire from them crossed 
within twenty yards of the face of the redoubt. 



118 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

The flank C sufficiently secures its face ; and the 
bastion D, with its flanks E and B, is the best 
defence against such troops as might endeavor 
to pass or cut down the fence." 

General Dearborn says : " It was a square re- 
doubt, the curtains of which were about sixty 
or seventy feet in extent, with an intrenchraent 
or breastwork extending fifty or sixty feet from 
the northern angle, towards Mystic River. In 
the course of the night the ramparts had been 
raised to the height of six or seven feet, with a 
small ditch at their base ; but it was yet in a 
rude, imperfect state." 

General Howe, it was conceded even hj his 
enemies, behaved with great bravery through the 
whole battle. Of the notices of him in the British 
journals I select the following: ''General Howe, 
during the whole engagement on the 17th of 
June last, was in the most imminent danger; and 
Mr. Evans, an English servant, who went over 
with him, could not be prevailed on to quit him 
till the whole of the action was over. Evans 
attended the whole time with wine and other 
necessaries for the refreshment of the General and 
those about him ; during which Evans had one 
of the bottles in his hand dashed to pieces, and 
got a contusion on one of his arms at the same 
time, by a ball from some of the provincials." 

General Clinton's services were highly com- 



BRITISH CRITICISM, 119 

mended, and great influence was ascribed to liis 
advice. Few details, however, are mentioned of 
his conduct, besides his rally of the troops for 
the third attack, and his advice to follow up the 
victory by a close pursuit. " The differences be- 
tween Clinton and Howe broke out first in this 
battle," where Howe attacked in front, '' and 
Clinton proposed to attack in the rear." Few 
particulars, also, are named of General Pigot. 
General Gage attributed " the success of the day, 
in a great measure, to his firmness and gallantry." 
General Gage was severely criticised. It was 
said, though he was urged to take possession of 
the Heights of Charlestown, he did not even 
reconnoitre the ground, and this neglect was a 
great error ; another error certainly was, that, 
instead of confining our attack to the enemy's 
left wing onlj^, the assault was made on the whole 
front : the army should have landed in their rear 
and cut off their retreat ; the troops should have 
marched up in column on the first attack, and 
carried the works by the bayonet; the unneces- 
sary load they bore exhausted them before they 
got into action ; Mystic River was neglected, for 
the '' Sj'mmetry " transport might have taken a posi- 
tion at high water in the rear of the Americans, 
and played on their flank at the rail-fence ; or one 
of the covered boats, musket-proof, and carrying 
a heavy piece of cannon, might have been towed 



120 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

close in to the shore. And when the field was 
won, the success was less brilliant than it might 
have been, and ought to have been, for no pur- 
suit was ordered after the Americans retreated. 
These criticisms, for the most part, were as just 
as they were severe. The issue of this battle 
destroyed the military reputation of General Gage, 
and occasioned his recall. 

Nor did the British troops, gallantly as they be- 
haved, escape the denunciations of party. Many 
allusions to their conduct on this day were made in 
the debates of Parliament. Thus Colonel Barre, 
February 20. 1776, said the troops, out of aversion 
to the service, misbehaved on this day. General 
Burgoyne arose Avith warmth, and contradicted 
Colonel Barre in the flattest manner. He allowed 
that the troops gave way a little at one time, be- 
cause they were flanked by the fire out of the 
houses, &c., at Charlestown, but they soon rallied 
and advanced ; and no men on earth ever behaved 
with more spirit, firmness, and perseverance, till 
they forced the enemy out of their intrenchments. 
This charge, in general, was certainly undeserved. 
At no time was British valor more needed to 
insure success, and at no time, General Gage re- 
marked, was it " more conspicuous than in this 
action." In the general orders of June 19 was 
the following tribute : '' The Commander-in-chief 
returns his most grateful thanks to Major-Geneml 



I 



DESTRUCTION OF CHARLESTOWN'. 121 

Howe for the extraordinary exertion of his military- 
abilities on the 17th instant. He returns his thanks 
also to Major-General Clinton and Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Pigot, for the share they took in the success 
of the day ; as well as to Lieutenant-Colonels Nes- 
bit, Abercronibie, Gunning, and Clarke ; Majors 
Butler, Williams, Bruce, Tupper, Spendlove, Small, 
and Mitchell ; and the rest of the officers and sol- 
diers, who, by remarkable efforts of courage and 
gallantry, overcame every disadvantage, and drove 
the rebels from their redoubt and strongholds on 
the heights of Charlestown, and gained a complete 
victory." On the 28th of September the thanks 
of the King were given as follows : '' The King 
has been pleased to order the Commander-in-chief 
to express his Majesty's thanks both to the officers 
and soldiers for their resolution and gallantry, by 
which they attacked and defeated the rebels on 
the 17th of June last, who had every advantage 
of numbers and situation ; and more especially 
expresses to Generals Howe and Chnton, and to 
Brigadier-General Pigot, the sense his Majesty 
entertains of the spirit, resolution, and conduct by 
which they distinguished themselves so much to 
their honor on that day."' 

The wanton destruction of Charlestown excited 
indignation at home and sympathy abroad. It 
had been repeatedly threatened previous to the 
battle. Its importance, in a mihtary point of view, 



122 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

added to the bold and decided part it bore in the 
previous ten years' controversy, seemed to mark it 
for sacrifice. A threat to this effect was given on 
the 19th of April. The British general, on the 
21st of April, sent to the selectmen a message to 
this effect, — that if American troops were allowed 
to occupy the town, or throw np works on the 
heights, the ships would be ordered to fire on it. 
Subsequently, probably when a part of the army 
marched into the town, General Gage sent word 
to the citizens that if the troops were not removed 
he would burn it. Consequently, a . committee 
waited upon General Ward, informed him of the 
threat, and stated that if the good of the cause 
required that the troops should remain they would 
not object. Comment is unnecessary on so inter- 
esting a fact, and one so honorable to the patriot- 
ism of the inhabitants of Charlestown. 

In consequence of these threats, the belief in 
town was very general that its destruction would 
follow any military operations within the penin- 
sula. Hence the inhabitants, with the exception 
of about two hundred, had removed into the coun- 
try, — some residing with friends, the poor sup- 
ported by tiie towns. Many carried with them 
their most valuable effects. Others had secreted 
their goods in various places, as in dried wells, in 
cellars, and holes dug in the ground. Committees 
were appointed to superintend the supply of pro- 



DESTRUCTION OF CEARLESTOWN, 123 

visions to those who remained. None could pass 
the Neck, however, without a permit from a per- 
son stationed at the ^' Sun Tavern," at this place. 
The owners of the pastures went in to mow the 
fields, and on the day previous to the battle the 
grass was cut in the neighborhood of the rail-fence. 
The town, therefore, on the day of the battle was 
nearly deserted. 

A few of the citizens, however, remained up to 
the hour of the eno^as^ement. While the British 
were embarking. Rev. John Martin, who fought 
bravely in the action, and was with the troops all 
night, left Breed's Hill, went to Charlestown 
Ferry, and with a spy-glass — Dr. Stiles writes — 
''viewed the shipping, and obseiwed their prepara- 
tions of floating-batteries, and boats filling with 
soldiers. There were now in Charlestown a con- 
siderable number of people — one hundred or two 
hundred, or more, men and women — not yet re- 
moved, though the body of the people and effects 
were gone. While he called in at a house for a 
drink of water, a cannon-ball from the shipping 
passed through the house. He persuaded the in- 
habitants to depart, but they seemed reluctant. 
He assured them that it would be warm work that 
day." He returned to the hill, but soon, about 
noon, went down again. '' Mr. Gary and son," he 
says, — " still at theii* own house, — urged him to 
take some refreshment and rest, as he had been 



124 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

fatigued all night. He lay down at Mr. Gary's 
about ten minutes, when a ball came through the 
house. He rose and returned, and then the town 
evacuated with all haste." Advertisements in the 
journals indicate that furniture was carried out on 
this day. 

General Burgoyne's letter supplies the most 
authentic description of the burning of the town. 
He writes of the British columns as they were 
movinsr to the attack : " Thev were also exceed- 
ingly hurt by musketry from Charlestown, though 
Clinton and I did not perceive it till Howe sent us 
word by a boat, and desired us to set fire to the 
town, which was immediately done ; we threw a 
parcel of shells, and the whole was immediately 
in flames." The town was burning on the second 
attack. The smoke was seen a great distance. 
" Terrible, indeed, was that scene," a letter from 
Salem reads, ''even at our distance. The west- 
ern horizon in the daytime was one huge body of 
smoke, and in the evening a continued blaze ; and 
the perpetual sound of cannon and volleys of mus- 
ketry worked up our imaginations to a high degree 
of fright." The houses within the peninsula, with 
the exception of a few in the neighborhood of Mill 
Street, were entirely consumed. The number of 
buildings was estimated at about four hundred ; 
and the loss of property at £117,982 bs.2d. Some 
of the property secreted was found by the British, 



DESTRUCTION OF CEARLESTOWN. 125 

while much of it Avas recovered by the owners on 
the evacuation of the town. Many from Boston 
had deposited goods in this town for safe-keeping, 
and these were consumed. Dr. Mather lost his 
library. 

Of the citizens was Seth Sweetser, the town- 
clerk, the school-master, and the writer of several 
of the patriotic papers issued by the town. The 
following letter, written in his retreat at Wilming- 
ton, shows the spirit of the Christian patriot. It 
is printed for the first time : — 

" Wilmington, July 4th, 1775. 
"Dear Sir, — I need not tell you that I sympathize 
with you and all our Charlestown friends, under the 
heavy loss we have met with, by our dwellings, &c., 
being laid in ashes. We find it literally true that 
riches make themselves wings and fly away. Let us 
realize it as a truth, there is no evil in the city, but the 
Lord has done it. It's true the thing was done by such 
men Avhose tender mercies are cruelty ; but if we eye 
the hand of God, this will quiet our minds. The judge of 
all the earth does all things right. He is holy in all his 
ways, &c. ; and though clouds and darkness are some- 
times round about him, as to the dispensations of his 
providence, as it seems to us short-sighted creatures, 
yet justice and judgment are the stability of his Throne. 
Let us beg of God to enable us to make a wise improve- 
ment of every thing that befalls us. Let us even take 
joyfully the spoiling of our goods, crying to God for his 
Grace, that this may be a happy means of opening our 



126 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

eyes to see the vanity of all sublunary enjoyments, and 
excite us to secure an interest in that good part which 
will never be taken away, — an heavenly inheritance. 
Oh, happy exchange! May you and I be brought by 
the influences of the Spirit of God to such a heavenly 
temper of mind as to be able to say, from the bottom of 
our hearts, O God, here we are, do with us as seemeth 
good in thy sight. Happy, thrice happy, the man that 
shall attain to this divine temper, this heavenly disposi- 
tion, — happy in life, happy in death. I suppose these 
hints may be agreeable to you, to muse upon in your 
retirement ; yet I must stop. I know it's your duty to 
attend the Provincial Congress, to consult such meas- 
ures as may have a happy tendency, by the blessing of 
God, to extricate this poor distressed land out of our 
troubles. I pray God to give you wisdom. 

" I'm now an exile in Wilmington Woods ; and though 
I may here get some good to myself by reading. &c., yet 
I can't be contented with this : I long to do something 
that may be servicable to others. You know I have 
always had full employ ; I abhor idleness ; I wish that 
a door may be opened, that I may lay out the small 
talents God has bestowed upon me in His service. I 
beg the favor of you to inquire of the members of the 
Congress if they know of any town that is destitute of 
a school-master. You know that I am capable of instruct- 
ing youth, not only in the languages, but also in writing 
and arithmetic, &c. I must, as soon as possible, do some- 
thing to support my family; the small matter I had by 
me in money will soon be gone. I know you will take 
pains to serve me ; and if you communicate my thoughts 



DESTRUCTION OF CHARLESTOWN, 127 

to Deacon Cheever (pray remember me to him), he will 
do all he can to serve me ; I have always experienced 
him to be my friend. If there is any thing you can think 
of that I can do, if never so mean an office, I'm quite 
willing to do it. My son Henry, who works at Cam- 
bridge, will deliver you this letter, and gladly bring one 
from you ; and, if you have nothing else at present to 
write, say, Your friend, Richard Devens. It will give me 
more pleasure than it can be trouble to you. 
" I am. Sir, yours, whilst my own, 
" Mr. Richard Devens. Seth Sweetser." 

The destruction naturally excited great indigna- 
tion in the colonies. John Langdon, in a letter 
dated Philadelphia, July 8, 1775, writes : " The 
low, mean revenge and wanton cruelty of the min- 
isterial sons of tyranny, in burning the pleasant 
town of Charlestown, beggars all description; this 
does not look like the fight of those who have so 
long been friends, and would hope to be friends 
again, but rather of a most cruel enemy, — though 
we shall not ^vonder wlien we reflect that it is the 
infernal hand of tyranny which always has, and 
ever will, deluge that part of the world (which it 
lays hold of) in blood." 

The British "Annual Register" of 1775 said: 
'' The fate of Charlestown was also a matter of 
melancholy contemplation to the serious and un- 
prejudiced of all parties. It was the first settle- 
ment made in the colony, and was considered as 



128 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

the mother of Boston, — that town owing its birth 
and nurture to emigrants of the former. Charles- 
town was large, handsome, and well built, both in 
respect to its public and private edifices ; it con- 
tained about four hundred houses, and had the 
greatest trade of any port in the province, except 
Boston. It is said that the two ports cleared out a 
thousand vessels annually for a foreign trade, ex- 
clusive of an infinite number of coasters. It is now 
buried in ruins. Such is the termination of human 
labor, industry, and wisdom, and such are the fatal 
fruits of civil dissensions." 

The British press, on the American side, kept 
this battle before the people. In 1778 there ap- 
peared a communication in a London paper, begin- 
ning : — 

Nitore in adversum, nee me, 
Qui ccetera vincit Impetus. 

Now acting in AMERICA, 

ANEW TRAGEDY, 

As it was first attempted at Bunker's-Hill, 

called, The DESTRUCTION of LIBERTY. 

The principal parts to be performed by 

The Germans and Scotch, assisted by detachments 

of the Guards. 

Between the acts are exhibited most magnificent pieces of 
fire-work, such as burning of towns and ships; concluding 
with a general massacre of old men, women, and children, 
performed to the life. 



DESTRUCTION OF CHARLESTOWX. 129 

To which -will be added, 

A FARCE, 

Called, CONCILIATORY MEASURES; 

Never attempted but once, 

Being damned by the American Congress; 

But to be tried once more by the Ministry, 

Who are to embark for that purpose. 

With the original Prologue, as spoken by 

at Westminster. 

The Epilogue by L— d G e G e. 

It is thought that this piece will meet with the utmost 
contempt, as before. 

Places to be taken on board any of his ships, just 

ready to sail for America. 

Any gentleman desirous of acting a part in the aforesaid 
Tragedy, and properly qualified, may be immediately sup- 
plied with a proper dress at the Drill, and all other neces- 
saries, besides having the advantage of being transported at 
the public expense. 

These recollections are not presented to keep 
alive national enmities. The late historian, Wil- 
liam H. Prescott, the grandson of Colonel Prescott, 
married the granddaughter of Captain Linzee, 
who commanded the British sloop-of-war, the 
"Falcon;" and in his library were the swords, 
crossed, worn by each of these commanders in the 
battle. They now are in the rooms of the Massa- 
chusetts Histoiical Society, with appropriate in- 

9 



130 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

scriptions. A member, Nathaniel Frothingham, 
D.D., when they were transferred, read the verses 
entitled •' The Crossed Swords." One was, — 

" Oh, be prophetic too ! 
And may those nations twain, as sign and seal 
Of endless amity, hang up their steel, 

As we these weapons do." 

I thus have attempted to present the chief inci- 
dents of this memorable battle. It is its connection 
with the cause of American liberty that gives such 
an importance to this occasion, and such an inter- 
est to its minute details. In the words of Daniel 
Webster : — 

''No national drama was ever developed in a 
more interesting and splendid first scene. The 
incidents and the result of the battle itself were 
most important, and indeed most wonderful. As 
a mere battle, few surpass it in whatever engages 
and interests the attention. It was fought on a 
conspicuous eminence, in the immediate neighbor- 
hood of a populous city ; and consequently in the 
view of thousands of spectators. The attacking 
army moved over a sheet of water to the assault. 
The operations and movements were of course all 
visible and all distinct. Those who looked on from 
the houses and heights of Boston had a fuller view 
of every important operation and event than can 
ordinarily be had of any battle, or than can possibly 



DESTRUCTION OF CUARLESTOWN, 131 

be had of such as are fought on a more extended 
ground, or by detachments of troops acting in dif- 
ferent places, and at different times, and in some 
measure independently of each other. When the 
British columns were advancing to the attack, the 
flames of Charlestown (fired, as is generally sup- 
posed, by a shell) began to ascend. The specta- 
tors, far outnumbering both armies, thronged and 
crowded on every height and every point which 
afforded a view of the scene, themselves constituting 
a very important part of it. 

" The troops of the two armies seemed like so 
many combatants in an amphitheatre. The manner 
in which they should acquit themselves was to be 
judged of, not, as in other cases of military engage- 
ments, by reports and future history, but by a vast 
and anxious assembly already on the spot, and 
waiting w4th unspeakable concern and emotion the 
progress of the day. 

" In other battles the recollection of wives and 
children has been used as an excitement to ani- 
mate the warrior's breast and nerve his arm. Here 
was not a mere recollection, but an actual presence 
of them, and other dear connections, hanging on 
the skirts of the battle, anxious and agitated, feel- 
ing almost as if wounded themselves by every blow 
of the enemy, and putting forth, as it were, their 
own strength, and all the energy of their own 
throbbing bosoms, into every gallant effort of their 
vv'arring friends. 



132 BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 

" But there was a more comprehensive and vastly 
more important view of that clay's contest than has 
been mentioned, — a view, indeed, which ordinary 
eyes, bent intently on what was immediately before 
them, did not embrace, but which w^as perceived in 
its full extent and expansion by minds of a higher 
order. Those men who were at the head of the 
colonial councils, who had been engaged for j^ears 
in the previous stages of the quarrel with England, 
and who had been accustomed to look forward to 
the future, Avere well apprised of the magnitude of 
the events likely to hang on the business of that 
day. They saw in it not only a battle, but the be- 
ginning of a civil Avar of unmeasured extent and 
uncertain issue. All America and all England 
were likely to be deeply concerned in the conse- 
quences. The individuals themselves, who knew 
full well what agency they had had in bringing 
affairs to this crisis, had need of all their courage, 
— not that disregard of personal safety, in which 
the vulgar suppose true courage to consist, but that 
high and fixed moral sentiment, that steady and 
decided purpose, Avhich enables men to pursue a 
distant end, with a full view of the difficulties and 
dangers before them, and Avitli a conviction that, 
before they arrive at the proposed end, should they 
ever reach it, they must pass through evil report as 
well as good report, and be liable to obloquy as well 
as to defeat. 



t 



DESTRUCTION OF CHARLESTOWN, 133 

" Spirits that fear nothing else, fear disgrace ; 
and this danger is necessarily encountered by those 
who engage in civil war. Unsuccessful resistance 
is not only ruin to its authors, but is esteemed, and 
necessarily so, bj^ the laws of all countries, treason- 
able. This is the case, at least, till resistance be- 
comes so general and formidable as to assume the 
form of regular war. But who can tell, when re- 
sistance commences, whether it will attain even to 
that degree of success ? Some of those persons 
who signed the Declaration of Independence in 
1776 described themselves as signing it ' as with 
halters about their necks.' If there were grounds 
for this remark in 1776, when the cause had become 
so much more general, how much greater was the 
hazard when the battle of Bunker Hill was fought ! 

" These considerations constituted, to enlarged 
and liberal minds, the moral sublimity of the occa- 
sion ; while to the outward senses, the movement 
of armies, the roar of artillery, the brilliancy of the 
reflection of a summer's sun from the burnished 
armor of the British columns, and the flames of a 
burning town, made up a scene of extraordinary 
grandeur." 



APPENDIX. 



THE "Massachusetts Spy, or American Oracle of 
Liberty," printed at Worcester, on Wednesday, 
June 21, 1775, had the following : — 

" A correspondent has favored us with the following 
account of the battle near Charlestown, viz., 'The 
re-enforcement both of horse and foot being arrived at 
Boston, and our army having good intelligence that 
General Gage was about to take possession of the 
advantageous posts near Charlestown arid Dorchester 
Point, the Committee of Safety advised that our troops 
should prepossess them, if possible. Accordingly, on 
Friday evening, the 16th instant, this was effected ; 
and before daylight on Saturday morning their lines of 
circumvallation, on a small hill south of Bunker's Hill, 
in Charlestown, was in great forwardness. At this 
time the " Lively " man-of-war began to fire upon them. 
A number of our enemy's ships, tenders, and scows, or 
floating-batteries, soon came up; from all which the 
firing was general by twelve o'clock. About two, the 
enemy began to land at a point that leads out towards 
Noddle's Island, and immediately marched up to our 
intrenchments, from which they were twice repulsed 



136 APPENDIX, 

with great loss, but the third time they forced them. 
Our forces, which were in the lines, as well as those 
sent for their relief, were annoyed on all sides by balls 
and bombs from Copp's Hill, the ships, scows, &c. At 
this time the buildings in Charlestown appeared in 
flames in almost every quarter, supposed to be kindled 
by hot balls. Though this scene was horrible and 
altogether new to most of our men, yet many stood 
and received wounds, by swords and bayonets, before 
they quitted their lines. The number of killed and 
wounded on our side is not yet known. Our men are 
in high spirits. 

" ' The number of regulars engaged is supposed to be 
between two and three thousand.' " 






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